The British Property Federation has responded with disappointment to the UK Government Budget announcements made Wednesday 22nd April in the House of Commons.  BPF Chief Executive Liz Peace said:

"We [BPF] suggested a number of ways of temporarily modifying the Real Estate Investment Trusts regime which would have had virtually no cost for the Exchequer and these have been ignored. We had also pressed for one very simple change that would have encouraged institutional levels of investment in an alternative stream of housing provision through renting, namely the disaggregation of stamp duty on bulk purchases, but this has also been ignored. There is no empty rates relief [in England], despite the traumatic decline of the high street."

“The measures designed to support housing sound impressive but it is not wholly clear how much new money is really on offer and how easy it will be for developers to access these funds – a large part of which must be spent this year. As for the plans announced yesterday to help with mortgage repayments, these have not received exactly enthusiastic support from the banks, while the extension of the asset backed securities scheme is exactly what was suggested – and ignored – last November.

“The one crumb of comfort for the industry concerns a paragraph buried in the Budget report stating that the Treasury will now look seriously at the concept of allowing local authorities to use borrowing against future tax revenues to fund infrastructure. This is an idea that we have been pressing for some time; it’s good to know that our voice has been heard.”

SPF Director David Melhuish added: 

'The decision not to reform SDLT to disaggregate bulk purchases of residential properties misses a key opportunity to encourage and facilitate the development of the market rneted residential sector and offers no support to the recent and encouraging comments of the Scottish Government on the private rented residential sector.  It is also difficult to see why the UK Government is failing to address long term reform to SDLT at a time when signals of support to the property markets are essential to encourage market recovery.'    

'Perhaps the one positive note of interest for the Scottish property industry is the UK Government's interest in piloting a tax increment financing scheme in England.  If Westminster can be attracted to the TIF concept then the UK Government might also consider future investment incentives for investors in TIF schemes.  SPF will continue to work with its BPF colleagues to promote the concept to policy-makers at local and central government levels.'