An overview of the housing policies of the three main political parties and the affect it will have on landlords.

Labour

• 10,000 new council houses to be built every year by 2014-15.
• Existing discounts available on council houses for sale will be reduced and instead a council house building programme will be pushed through.
• Councils will retain rental receipts locally to support house building and maintain properties.
• Two year stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers up to £250,000.
• Agreements with banks to lend £105 billion to home buyers and businesses over the next year.
• Reformed housing benefit system to ensure people who live in private sector are not subsidised on rents that other working families cannot afford.
• A crackdown of tenancy cheats who sub-let social housing.
• New homes to be zero carbon by 2016.
• Guaranteed right for households who rent from a private landlord to a written tenancy agreement and access to free and impartial advice, will also establish a new National Landlord Register.

Affect on landlords

Building new council houses every year will help to prevent another housing crisis as there will be less pressure on landlords and the buy-to-let sector. However, reducing the discounts on council houses for sale means it may be better to purchase these bargains before things are changed.

Conservatives

• Reward councils for building more homes by allowing them to keep more of the proceeds from council tax and business rates from new developments.
• Give electors the right to trigger local referendums for opposing or limiting tax increases.
• Permanently increase stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers to £250,000.
• Abolish HIPs
• Abolish Labours tier of regional planning, allowing local communities to determine the right level of development, limiting existing planning appeals and ensuring quicker developments.
• Give council tenants a 10% equity share in their home to restore pride and encourage social mobility.
• Create local housing trusts to allow communities to build affordable homes.
• Give councils stronger powers to prevent infill development in suburbs and to build more family homes.
• Raise inheritance tax threshold to £1 million.
• Create a ‘Green Deal’, giving every home up to £6,500 worth of energy improvement measures - with more for hard-to-treat homes - paid for out of savings made on fuel bills over 25 years.

Affect on landlords

By abolishing Labours tier of regional planning, limiting existing planning appeals and ensuring quicker developments, will give landlords more influence over their property investments. They will also be able to benefit by improving the rental returns of their let property by adding additional living space and being able to prevent property developments in the area that could potentially reduce rents.

Liberal Democrats

• Bring 250,000 empty properties back into use by giving the owners cheap loans and grants and creating 65,000 jobs.
• Will invite councils to pilot new local income tax scheme to reform local taxation and introduce fairer local taxes based on a property owner’s ability to pay.
• Every new home to be fully energy efficient and will start a national programme to insulate more homes by giving up to £10,000 per home paid for by the savings from lower energy bills.
• Ensure that repossessions are always a last resort and will be stopped in cases where the lender has not pursued all the options.
• Allow local authorities to build new council houses by borrowing against their assets and ensuring borrowing is not counted as national debt.
• Abolish HIPs.
• A new planning “use class” for second homes giving communities control over the number of homes which are given to holiday makers.

Affect on landlords

Bringing 250,000 properties back into use will give landlords more opportunities for property investment especially for those who haven’t got the finance to renovate.

Allowing local authorities to build new council houses will help the increasing problem of housing shortages, will take some pressure off the buy-to-let sector and will provide a new source for bargain property investments.

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