Experts Warn Of Effects Of Buy-To-Let Tax Changes On Affordable Housing

A government surcharge could lead to unexpected consequences for the affordable housing sector, as developers face a Stamp Duty Land Tax bill around 20% higher than pre-Budget levels. The higher duty for developers is re-focusing sales negotiations and often resulting in lower prices being paid for development land in an effort to spread the transaction costs between buyer and seller. February and March saw a surge in property transactions but, since the controversial three per cent surcharge on second home purchases was implemented in April, activity has slumped and there has been an increased trend of sellers reducing their property prices, or accepting offers up to 10% less than their original asking prices. The average house price in the UK has fallen to £212,321, down £1,624 on the month, and the annual pace of inflation has dropped from 10.1% to 9.2%.  Read more on the CCH website.

Landlords Urged To Pay £2m to Fund New Forum

dTenants are set to push councils and housing associations to pay them up to £2 million to enable them to have a stronger voice on the national stage. The four main national tenant organisations - the Tenants’ and Residents’ Organisations of England, the Tenant Participation Advisory Service, the Confederation of Co-operative Housing and the National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations - are all united behind the plan. They are calling for landlords to pay 1p per tenant per week - or 50p per tenant per year - to fund a new national tenant forum, equating to £2 million a year. The forum has been set up after more than a year’s work between the NTOs and other tenants after the coalition government axed the £1 million National Tenant Voice in July 2010. The new forum does not have a budget, however, which will limit its scope. Instead its members - who are all tenants - will be contacted by one of the four main bodies by phone or electronically to give their views about government policies and proposals. Read more on Inside Housing.

Tenants to Produce Framework for Local Tenant Panels

A programme agreed between the National Tenant Organisations (NTOs) and Government will see tenants leading the development of a framework for local tenant panels working in partnership with landlords. The NTOs (CCH, TPAS, TAROE and NFTMO) have been funded through the DCLG’s Tenant Empowerment Grant programme to provide an outline framework:
*establishing a programme of front runners to test out approaches;
*considering relationships with councillors, MPs, the regulator and ombudsman; and
*developing a user friendly document aimed at tenants setting out options derived from the above activity that tenants and landlords will be able to use in their development of tenant panels.
Along side this grant-funded project, the NTOs will also develop an “accreditation” system for Local Tenant Panels that will aim:
*to develop a tenant-led framework of principles and standards behind tenant panels;
*to ensure clarity for landlords regarding what is expected of them; and
*to generally drive up standards of tenant involvement and empowerment,
providing a basis for tenants and landlords to work together and learn from each other locally and nationally.
Find more information on the Confederation of Co-operative Housing website.