Autumn Budget 2021 – What announcements were made for the housing industry?

Yesterday, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak outlined his Autumn Budget for 2021, which included some positive news for some parts of the housing industry. Here, Paul Dubberley sets out some of the key announcements made and how they will affect the housing industry…

• £24bn overall funding for the housing industry - the largest cash investment in a decade according to the Chancellor.
• £11.5bn towards affordable housing, to make home ownership more of a reality for many people across the UK.
• A focus on brownfield sites, with 180,000 affordable homes to be built on unused land and derelict buildings.
• 4% ‘Residential Property Development Tax’ to be introduced for developers with profits over £25m. This will affect the top 30 developers in the UK.
• £5bn from the new Residential Property Development Tax to go towards the removal of unsafe cladding and combatting the cladding crisis.
• £640m a year to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness.
• £65m investment to overhaul the planning system.
• Capital Gains Tax payment deadline increased from 30 to 60 days.

Other notable points from the budget included:

• Inflation was 3.4% in September and is expected to increase to 4% average in 2022.
• National Living Wage to rise to £9.50 an hour.
• Universal Credit taper rate will be reduced from 63% to 55%.
•  Businesses with the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England to benefit from 50% discount on business rates in 2022-23.
• Planned rise in fuel tax cancelled amid recent spike in fuel prices.
• £150bn funding collectively to go to all Whitehall departments across the course of this parliament.
• Extra £4.7bn funding for schools by 2024-25.
• A new lower ‘Air Passenger Duty’ for all domestic flights within the UK from April 2023.
• Planned rise in duty on alcohol cancelled and simplified duties on alcohol introduced.

If you would like to know more about the housing market, please contact your local Paul Dubberley branch.