Abolish Council Tax Bands, Argues Think Tank

Council tax bands should be abolished, giving local authorities the freedom to set their own flat rate levy, according to a report from a think tank. In Moving beyond Mansion Tax, CentreForum argues councils should be allowed to retain any revenue raised from homes valued at £2m or below to pay for local services. Any tax raised from homes worth more than £2m, would be distributed nationally under the plans. It argues this new system would make property tax fairer than the proposed Mansion Tax and would strengthen the links between taxpayers and local services. Read more on the LocalGov website.

Shapps Rules Out Leaseholder 'Exploitation' Laws

The housing minister has ruled out legislation to protect leaseholders despite a television documentary suggesting councils are profiting from repairs deals. Channel 4’s Dispatches programme suggested leaseholders were being overcharged for repairs works and local authorities were pocketing the left over cash.  But Mr Shapps said while landlords should act responsibly ‘more and more red tape’ was not the answer.  ‘The vast majority of the country’s three million leaseholders are satisfied with the service they receive from their freehold landlord,’ he said.  The programme was shown on the same day liberal think tank CentreForum released a report arguing that regulation for the leasehold sector was ‘urgently needed’.  ‘The number of leasehold properties will increase significantly in the coming years, precisely because of other government policies – both the right-to-buy and the housing strategy to increase the supply of homes,’ the paper A new lease of life says.  ‘The government must therefore seek to integrate policy so that reform of the leasehold system [is] pursued alongside the development of new houses.’ Download a copy of the paper from the CentreForum website.

Safe as Houses? Security of Tenure for Social Housing Tenants In England

The Liberal Think Tank, Centre Forum has published a briefing outlining its concerns to the proposed changes to security of tenure.  Safe as houses? Security of tenure for social housing tenants in England argues that the Government's plans to restrict security of tenure would change the understanding which has historically been at the heart of social housing, forcing families to move out of their homes and removing tenants who often serve as the 'social glue' which helps bind communities together. Instead, it proposes that greater flexibility could be introduced into the existing social housing stock by periodically reassessing the circumstances of social tenants, with those who can afford to do so paying a market rent, with the additional revenue ringfenced for reinvestment in the housing supply.  Download the briefing from the Centre Forum website by clicking on the logo below.