£230m Windfall For Top Builders Since Start Of Help To Buy

The bosses of Britain's biggest builders have been paid more than £230million since the Help to Buy scheme was launched five years ago, the Mail can reveal. The chief executives of seven leading companies including Persimmon, Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey have seen their pay triple on the back of the taxpayer-funded subsidy. Profits have also jumped fourfold since George Osborne's housing programme was introduced in April 2013. But the number of new homes built has grown by just 50 per cent. Read more on the This is Money website.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-6364383/230m-windfall-builders-start-Help-Buy.html

One In Seven Help To Buy Owners Are Locked Into Leaseholds

Developers are abusing the Government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme by selling new-build homes with punishing leases. By the end of last year, leasehold houses made up 15 per cent of properties in the taxpayer-funded project. But the arrangement means buyers do not own their home outright and are forced to pay yearly ground rent to the freeholder – with some fees doubling every decade. Developers often sell the contracts to investors who then charge families huge sums to buy the freeholds back. It is now feared the taxpayer could lose out because the onerous terms make it almost impossible to sell leasehold houses on – leading to a slump in prices. Read more on the Daily Mail website.

One In Four Help To Buy Homes Went To People Earning More Than DOUBLE The Average Wage

One in four people who benefited from the Government's flagship Help to Buy scheme earned more than double the average wage, figures reveal.   The scheme was designed to help low income households get on the housing ladder but the latest statistics have laid bare its failure to meet its objectives. Nearly 3,500 households earning more than £100,000 benefited from the taxpayer-funded scheme.  And one in five Help to Buy homes even went to people who already owned a property.  Read more on the Daily Mail website.

Councils Pay Private Landlords Up to £4,000 to House Tenants

Councils are offering landlords cash payments of up to £4,000 to accommodate homeless families as a shortage of social housing forces authorities to court the private sector with taxpayer-funded incentives. Many councils in London and south-east England are now advertising cash incentives to private landlords. Westminster council in central London is paying up to £4,000 to landlords who take on council tenants. Tower Hamlets in east London recently advertised a £2,500 payment for one-bedroom properties to landlords agreeing to let to council-vetted tenants for two years and a £4,000 lump sum for homes with two or more bedrooms. Read more on the Guardian website.