General Election 2024

So what do the primary parties in the upcoming general election have to say about housing?

Labour: The manifesto is here. There is a commitment to “immediately” abolish ‘no fault’ evictions and to improve the repairing rights of private sector tenants. A new “cross-government” strategy on homelessness will be produced, taking in central and local government as well as regional mayors. The three Law Commission reports on enfranchisement, right to manage and commonhold will be enacted and there will be reforms to leasehold ground rents and freehold rentcharges. Labour will “review” right to buy discounts and will take steps to protect new social housing from it.

Conservatives: The manifesto is here. First time buyers will not pay stamp duty on the first £425,000 of any property purchase. A new Help to Buy scheme will be introduced. New “local connection” and “UK connection” tests will be introduced for social housing allocations. Social landlords will be “expected” to evict anti-social tenants. A “Renters Reform” Act will be passed to deliver fairness in the rental housing market. There will be new powers for local authorities to regulate holiday lets and self-building schemes will be liberalised and encouraged. Leasehold ground rents will be capped at £250 p.a. and there will be reforms to the law of forfeiture. 

Liberal Democrats: The manifesto is here. There is a commitment to “immediately ban… no-fault evictions” and to make three-year tenancies the default. A new national register of licensed landlords would be created. Local authorities would be empowered to end the right to buy in their areas. Residential leasehold will be abolished. The rough sleeper provisions of the Vagrancy Act 1824 would be repealed.

Oliver Kew

Published on 17/06/2024