Autumn Statement commits £1.4bn to build 40,000 homes

Autumn Statement commits £1.4bn to build 40,000 homes

AS broadly predicted, Chancellor Philip Hammond moved to act on the housing shortage with his Autumn Statement pledge to invest £1.4bn into a building programme for 40,000 affordable homes.

He also unveiled a £2.3bn in infrastructure support for 100,000 homes in “areas of high demand”.

Hammond also promised to broaden the scale of the Government’s Right to Buy scheme and to continue support the Help to Buy scheme and the Help to Buy ISA.

“This will more than double the annual capital spending on housing,” he said. “And it represents a step change in helping to deliver a housing market that works for everyone.”

There was a further boost for hard-hard pressed families when Hammond confirmed the wide pre-Statement leaks that letting agents would be banned from charging tenants up front fees.

Up fees paid by tenants often amount to several hundred pounds but Hammond said: “It is wrong that tenants should be charged these fees.”

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