HOUSING SUPPORT
CHANGES TO STAMP DUTY LAND TAX ON BULK PURCHASES
If the buyer chooses then the rate of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on properties can be determined by the mean value of the homes bought, rather than the aggregate value that is currently the case. This will be subject to a minimum rate of one per cent.
The rule change is expected to encourage professional landlords and institutional investors to build up their property portfolios.
STAMP DUTY LAND TAX AVOIDANCE CLAMPDOWN
Currently payable at five per cent on properties over £5m.
Osborne has from today banned three schemes commonly used to avoid paying the tax.
Two of them involved setting up financial institutions through which a property was bought such as an offshore registered company, incurring a much lower rate of stamp duty or no duty at all.
While the third relied on taking out long-term leases of up to 999 years instead of buying a property outright.
FIRST-TIME BUYER SUPPORT
A £250m assisted deposit scheme for new homes.
Open to those with a household income of less than £60,000 a year who can put down a five per cent deposit on a new home.
Eligible for a loan worth up to 20 per cent of the value of the property, jointly funded by the government and housebuilders. The loan will be interest-free for five years and will only be repayable when the house is
sold.
SUPPORT FOR MORTGAGE INTEREST SCHEME EXTENDED
Jobless home owners can claim up to 100 per cent of their interest payments after 13 weeks of unemployment and for mortgages worth up to £200,000.
Originally due to expire in January 2012, the scheme will now be extended to January 2013.