Current / Property affairs

Question 1

What were the key announcements in the Budget 2020 for Real Estate?

Answer 1

Infrastructure revolution’ at heart of Chancellor’s Budget
2020.

Housing, planning and building safety
• £9.5 billion to extend the Affordable Homes Programme, which in total will allocate £12.2 billion of grant funding for the 5 years from 2021-2. Details of the allocations and tenure split will be determined soon
• Additional £1 billion for a new Building Safety Fund, to remove unsafe cladding from residential buildings above 18 metres (not just ACM). This brings the total funding up to £1.6bn
• £1.1 billion allocation for Housing Infrastructure Fund for nine different areas including Manchester, South Sunderland and South Lancaster.
• £400 million for Mayoral Combined Authorities and local areas to establish housing on brownfield land across the country, this will be known as the Brownfield Housing Fund.
• Government will launch a new long-term Single Housing Infrastructure Fund at the Spending Review scheduled for July 2020.
• Government announce plans to develop, with local partners, a long-term Spatial Framework to support strategic planning in the OxCam Arc. This is to support the delivery of the new homes needed for growth up to 2050. The government will also examine the case for new Development Corporations in the OxCam Arc in order to accelerate new housing and infrastructure development

Stamp Duty
• Introduce a 2% Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) surcharge on non-UK residents purchasing residential property in England and Northern Ireland from 1 April 2021. Receipts from the surcharge will be used to help address rough sleeping.

Question 2

How can we expect the pandemic to affect the housing market?

Answer 2

• General uncertainty will weigh on consumer sentiment
• Restrictions on peoples ability to go about their day to day business will impede normal estate agency, mortgage and conveyancing processes.
  Stock market falls will make people feel less secure about their personal financial situation.
• A negative impact on earnings, employment and wealth generation.
  Government have responded with extensive supporrt fpr the economy businesses and PRS.

Question 3

What are the recent changes to building safety?

Answer 3

New measures announced include mandatory sprinkler systems and consistent wayfinding signage in all new high-rise blocks of flats over 11 metres tall.

£1.6bn available for the remediation of high-rise buildings with unsafe ACM (aluminum composite material) cladding.