£1 billion housing package

A £1 billion housing package was announced by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears to help first time buyers struggling to get onto the housing ladder, support vulnerable homeowners at risk of repossession, and support the house-building industry.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that stamp duty land tax will not apply to purchases of residential property of £175,000 or less.
In a third step, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced new support measures to help vulnerable homeowners meet their mortgage interest payments. The DWP announced it would be reforming Income Support for Mortgage Interest by shortening the waiting period before SMI is paid from 39 weeks to 13 weeks for new working age claims from April 2009. The capital limit for new working age claims will also be increased to £175,000 from April 2009.

The measures announced by Ms Blears include:

• offering 10,000 first time buyers currently frozen out of the mortgage market the chance to get onto the property ladder through a new £300m shared equity scheme
• supporting up to 6,000 of the most vulnerable homeowners facing repossession to remain in their home through a £200m mortgage rescue scheme
• £100m investment to support SMI reform which could help prevent a further 10,000 repossessions
• A £400 million boost in spending power for social housing providers, including registered social landlords and councils, to deliver 5,500 more social houses over the next 18 months by bringing funding forward
• working with Regional Development Agencies to support the most critical regeneration schemes with the most potential to transform their communities.