Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has used his Autumn Statement to reveal measures affecting both the rental market and the wider property industry.
The Local Housing Allowance is to be increased next year to the 30th percentile of local market rents, as requested by numerous landlord and lettings agency groups. Hunt says this will help some 1.6m households currently renting in both the private and social housing sectors. It's the equivalent of some £800 per year per household receiving LHA, he says.
The government-backed 95 per cent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme has been extended until the end of June 2025 - 18 months longer than previously agreed.
On planning, there will be consultation on a change to Permitted Development Rights to allow any house to be converted into two flats, so long as there is no change to the external appearance.
Households close to new electricity infrastructure (pylons and sub-stations) will receive up to £1,000 per year off energy bills.
Additionally, Hunt says that from 2024 local authorities will be able to recover the full cost of large-scale planning applications in return for a guaranteed date for a planning decision.
Business rates 75 per cent relief for retail, hospitality and leisure sectors extended until 2025.
Other measures announced today include:
- Employee National Insurance cut by 2.0 per cent to 10 per cent, helping 27m employees with an average salary saving £450 - this is introduced from January 6 2024;
- Class 2 National Insurance payments by self-employed to be abolished, saving the average self-employed person £192 a year - Class 4 NI for self-employed cut from 9.0 to 8.0 per cent from April, saving £150 per self-employed person;
- Universal Credit and other benefits to rise from April by 6.7 per cent;
- Core inflation predicted to fall to 2.8 per cent in 2024, then the 2.0 per cent official target in 2025 (this is a slower decline than previously anticipated);
- All alcohol duty frozen until August 2024;
- Triple lock to be honoured in pension payments - state pensions to rise by 8.5 per cent in April;
- Reduced business tax burden by up to 25 per cent by making large-company 'Full Expensing' permanent for those investing in the UK;
- £4.5 billion over five years to be invested in strategically important industry sectors including green technology and pharmaceuticals;
- £50m over two years to pilot ways to increase apprenticeships in key sectors;
- £500m for the development of AI and supercomputer innovation;
- Expanded investment in Freeports and Investment Zones, including further zones in Wales, the Midlands and Greater Manchester;
- Reform for long-term sickness benefits to encourage job-seeking and working from home, with mandatory work-placements after 18 months in some cases;
- National Minimum Wage to rise £11.44p an hour, which is a 9.8 per cent rise;
- £7m for organisations to tackle anti-semitism in schools and universities.
* Remember - the Chancellor’s speech is only part of the Autumn Statement. The substantial details published in writing afterwards often reveal important changes which are only unravelled in the coming days *
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Very disappointing overall.
Nothing on Section 24, CGT or IHT.
Increasing LHA will save Local Authorities a bit on DHPs. Depending on how they manipulate the figures it may or may not be a meaningful increase. Time will tell.
Jo. Spot on as usual. You should be representing landlords. Seldom do I disagree with you. Usually I am 100% with your thoughts
This Government is totally deaf to Landlord's concerns.
At least my benefits-supported tenants will get a bit of relief. The gap between LHA and actual rents is getting ridiculous. I have someone renting a 1 bed bungalow for £550 which is the least I can do with the current interest rates and he gets just £325 towards that. And £65 or so a week for a shared room is also a sick joke when it is usually £80-£90 for anything half decent. It doesn't help that large HMOs are not allowed to let anything less than 6.5m^2, which in most cases would just about allow for a double bed.
But landlords will have to continue pricing in the cost of section 24 et al, one of the many reasons that rents have risen recently.
I would have been amazed if s24 had been changed, anything that benefits landlords directly would be politically very bad.
So landlords will now be blamed for taking advantage of the new HB rates to put up rents.
Surely most have already put up rents. Certainly in this area the Housing Options team have absolutely no expectation of finding properties at anywhere close to LHA. I've recently housed one of theirs with a £316 pcm difference in actual rent and LHA. I questioned affordability but their attitude was it was the cheapest property in the town so it would have to be made to work with a combination of LHA, DHP, Hardship funding and Cost of Living handouts.
I actually had one property at just below LHA and when the tenant claimed UC in January he was questioned as to whether he'd made a mistake on the application.
For those landlords who have kept their rents artificially low at LHA level for 4 years they are long overdue an increase. Their sacrifice has saved the Government a fortune in DHPs. HMRC will get a large chunk of it back in the form of income tax anyway.
Yup…. We can NEVER win 😂😂 I accept it, no point fighting 🥊 it.
Good news about business rates
Now allow vacant shops to change to residential please
Too late, the damage is done!
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