Date Published 08 March 2024
The Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered his Spring Budget on 6th March 2024, which is likely to be the last before a General Election. Generation Rent activist group has described yesterday's Budget as a 'giveaway to Landlords.' They also mention to say the side-effect of the budget could make 'thousands of renters homeless.'
In holiday let's the Chancellor will scrap tax breaks which make it more profitable for second homeowners to let out their properties to holiday makers rather than to long-term tenants to rent and will abolish the furnished holiday lettings regime. Capital gains tax is reduced from 28% to 24%, the move is predicted to increase revenues as there will be more transactions. Relief for people buying more than one dwelling in a single transaction will be abolished. The regime was designed to encourage investment in PRS but the Chancellor states that it has been widely abused.
Although the government says this is explicitly to encourage a wider supply of properties for first time buyers, Generation Rent's chief executive Ben Twomey claims:
'This tax giveaway to Landlords could make thousands of renters homeless. The only reason the Chancellor is doing this is because of the expectation that a lower tax rate will boost the number of sales, but apparently no thought has been given to the people living in those homes, who will generally face eviction before the Landlords put them on the market.'
The Spring Budget also included Hunt saying that he is committed to providing more opportunities for housing across generations. This includes building more houses for young people stating that the UK Government is on track to deliver over one million homes in this parliament.
