More than a third of people want the Government to review Council Tax bands and provide greater support with payments as housing costs remain under pressure, research from Together suggests.
The specialist lender found 37% backed action on Council Tax as part of measures to rebuild confidence in the housing market.
A third (33%) also wanted greater clarity over the Government’s longer-term intentions for Stamp Duty, despite changes to the tax having been ruled out for the forthcoming Budget.
Meanwhile, 26% supported measures designed to encourage older homeowners and others to downsize and release larger properties back onto the market.
HOUSEBUILDING
The research also found support for measures aimed at increasing housing supply.
Almost a third (32%) wanted councils and housing associations to receive greater funding to deliver social housing at scale.
A quarter backed measures to unlock brownfield land and regenerate existing communities, while 23% wanted action to remove barriers preventing consented developments from being built.
Some 19% said the Government should avoid penalising or stigmatising property investment.
HOUSING COSTS
Ryan Etchells (main picture, inset), Chief Commercial Officer at Together, says: “Ahead of a Budget in which the Government looks to balance easing the cost of living with raising taxes to tackle its diminished fiscal headroom, there’s a danger that housing costs are overlooked to the public’s detriment.
“For many, Council Tax has outstripped both inflation and wage growth in recent years, and has become a difficult cost to bear in tandem with soaring mortgage costs.”
He adds: “Though immediate reform is not on the table, the public rightly identifies Stamp Duty as an obstacle to a more fluid property market in which downsizing is incentivised and families can move to homes more suited to their needs.”
The Government is expected to provide further details of its Your First Home scheme at the Budget, including support allowing eligible first-time buyers to purchase new-build properties with deposits of 2.5%.
