One month on: New data shows the impact of the Chancellor’s stamp duty holiday
Rishi Sunak’s emergency measure to boost the housing market is working, says Knight Frank, and there’s an argument for making it permanent…
Planning for the Future: Government reveals details of ‘radical’ reforms to create ‘a whole new planning system for England’
This is “radical reform unlike anything we have seen since the Second World War,” declares the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, as the Planning for the Future consultation opens. “Not more fiddling around the edges, not simply painting over the damp patches, but levelling the foundations and building, from the ground up, a whole new planning system for England.”
Industry Reactions: ‘Radical’ planning reforms promise to create ‘a whole new planning system for England’
There’s a mixed bag of reactions to the Government’s proposed sweeping reform of the planning system.
Why the Government’s planning reforms are not all they seem…
Expectations around the Government’s ‘radical’ new reforms were high, but on closer inspection they remind Adam Hesse of the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes…
Amberfield land & more MMC: RICS pitches policies to drive ‘long-term improvements to the housing market’
Surveyors call for a new “Amberfield” land classification, more modular housing, and further interventions into planning and development, home ownership and the private rented sector.
‘Planning revolution’ could mean automatic approval for many housing developments
“New homes, hospitals, schools, shops and offices will be allowed automatically”, says the Housing Secretary, as he outlines a new Zonal planning system.
Talking Heads: On the expansion of Permitted Development Rights
Specialists from the worlds of acquisition and architecture offer their unbridled thoughts on the government’s latest tweaks to the planning system…
Think tank calls for a Property Capital Gains Tax to ‘pay for the coronavirus’
Michael Johnson and the Social Market Foundation are calling for “tens of billions of pounds of new taxes to be levied on increases in the value of homes”, with a new Property Capital Gains Tax replacing Stamp Duty and Inheritance Tax on main residences.
Commercial Break: What to consider when converting excess office space to resi
Permitted development rights are in hot debate as the Government attempts to reform the planning system, deliver more housing and build the UK out of the Coronavirus crisis, with questions remaining over quality control and the long-term impacts on our towns and cities. Chris Barkley condenses the current position in relation to office-to-resi conversions, and looks at what the future might hold…
Details of next year’s non-resident SDLT surcharge published
The 2% foreign buyer levy “may help to control house price inflation, by leading to a reduction in residential property purchases by non-UK residents,” suggests HM Treasury.
Significant leasehold reform proposals promise ‘to transform the future of home ownership in England & Wales’
Commonhold should be the “preferred alternative” to leasehold, says the Law Commission in a series of three important reports that outline how to create “a better deal for leaseholders and make our homes work for us, and not somebody else.”
Place in Society: On loneliness & the role of real estate
The industry can learn many things from the last few months, writes Sara Bailey, including how buildings can help alleviate the problem of loneliness in our communities.