The government has announced plans to build 400,000 new affordable homes by 2020, by doubling the housing budget to £2bn a year, reducing planning red tape for small and brownfield developments, and encouraging the sale of land by central and local government for development. Although good news for developers, it is not enough to meet the country's need for 250,000 new homes per year, and it may have little real impact on affordability.
It hopes to quell the rise of buy-to-let by increasing Stamp Duty by 3% on most second homes bought after April 2016. The Chancellor has already announced in his Summer Budget that mortgage interest relief would be capped at 20% and relief for 'wear and tear' limited to actual costs incurred. It remains to be seen whether these changes will have the desired effect. The National Landlords Association and Association of Residential Letting Agents warned that the measures would 'choke off investment', and 'increase rents and reduce property standards for tenants'.