The Conservatives are set to announce plans to help the housing market when they launch their manifesto later today.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, prime minister Rishi Sunak pledges that if re-elected the Conservatives will:
- Abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers, up to the value of £425,000
- Launch a new Help to Buy scheme, which would give first-time buyers an equity loan of up to 20% towards the cost of a new-build home. The closure of the previous Help to Buy equity loan scheme was announced by the government in October 2018
- Give tax relief for landlords who sell their property to their tenants - giving them "100% relief on their capital gains tax liability"
In a BBC interview last night, Sunak said that "it has got harder" to buy a home, but he "wants to make sure that it's easier".
The Conservative manifesto will also confirm they will cut another 2p from National Insurance but income tax thresholds will stay frozen until 2028.
