Ahead of the Budget, Andrew Ellinas, Director of Sandfords comments on what he would like to see the Chancellor announce today.
March 16, 2016
“Unlikely to happen, but Mr Osborne needs to start reversing the stamp duty changes he has made. Over the last four years there has been an unfair amount of tax changes including stamp duty, land tax and capital gains. Landlords and homeowners have been completely restricted with these additional tax charges, all of which have been very damaging on the housing market as a whole. The most recent change, the 3% surcharge on buy-to-let and second home properties, due to begin on 1st April, will undoubtedly deplete the level of rental stock. Not only will people then not be able to afford to buy they won’t be able to rent either.
These so called ‘clampdowns’ as part of a spending review package are having a negative impact on the housing market. The Government has done what they always do and has been far too heavy handed causing the industry to suffer. Far from the conservative party being the property industry’s friend, they have in fact been our enemy making it increasingly more difficult and expensive for people to be able to afford to buy.
In addition to this, it looks like the Chancellor is going to make another step tomorrow that will again knock the property market when he announces an insurance premium tax; an increase in home insurance payments.
All of these tax changes have created a fairly static market, particularly in the London market. It doesn’t help that people are sitting on their hands until a decision is made on whether we stay in the EU or not, but something needs to change and I would like to see the Chancellor reverse some of the tax hikes he has implemented. The last thing he should be doing right now is making it more difficult for people by tightening their finances even further.”
You May Also Enjoy
Mortgage approvals down 11% in May
The latest mortgage approval data from the Bank of England show that: – Mortgage approvals on house purchases for May sat at 56,205 down (-14.9%) from 66,034 seen in April. Approvals are down (-10.8%) when compared to the 62,980 seen in May 2025. This annual decline was expected due to wider political and economic uncertainty;…
Read More 
Money and Credit – May 2026
Overview These monthly statistics on the amount of, and interest rates on, borrowing and deposits by households and businesses are used by the Bank’s policy committees to understand economic trends and developments in the UK banking system. Key points: Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals decreased to £2.9 billion in May, from £4.4 billion…
Read More 
More than 5,300 land listings currently available in Britain
The latest research from LandSale, the property portal dedicated to land and rural property, has revealed that there are an estimated 5,373 land listings currently available across Great Britain, with almost a quarter, 24.9%, listed in the past 30 days. The analysis examined all land-only listings currently being marketed across Great Britain. LandSale assessed the…
Read More 
Build to rent completions rise 11.7%
New research from Zero Deposit reveals that the UK’s build-to-rent sector has continued its strong growth trajectory in 2026, with both delivery and investment volumes increasing year on year as demand for professionally managed rental accommodation remains robust. As the sector expands and operators manage larger portfolios of high-value rental homes, protecting rental income is becoming…
Read More 
Has the doer-upper lost its shine?
First-time buyers, once the doer-upper’s natural market, have changed their priorities – and what they want now is certainty. For decades, the doer-upper held a particular place in British life: the tired house bought cheap, done up over years of weekends and sold on as the home it always promised to be. It was a…
Read More 
1 in 7 consider moving home to manage cooling costs in hotter weather
Two in five adults (40 per cent) say they would prefer to invest in home improvements to reduce overheating from the outset, rather than rely on cooling devices Three in 10 (30 per cent) are concerned about the impact of using electricity for cooling on their energy bills, while over four in 10 (44 per…
Read More