Rishi Sunak unveiled the Conservative manifesto today at Silverstone racetrack, which promises to build more homes than Labour, renews its pledge to abolish ‘no fault’ evictions and cuts taxes for first-time buyers.

Key points from the manifesto:

Housing

• Pledges to build 1.6 million new homes in the next parliament by “building on brownfield sites and scrapping defective EU planning laws”

This tops Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.

Over the last five years, the UK has built around 1 million homes.

• Launch an “improved” Help to Buy scheme to provide FTBs with an equity loan of up to 20% towards the cost of a new build home

FTBs will be able to get onto the housing ladder with a 5% deposit “on interest terms they can afford” in the programme. The scheme will be partly funded by contributions from housebuilders.

These previous government loans for new build homes, mainly to FTBs, of around 20% of the value of a property (40% in London), have proved controversial.

Housebuilders have said previous schemes stimulated new home construction, but critics say they can create housing bubbles and can leave borrowers with rising interest payments once the interest-free period of the loan ends.

The previous decade-long Help to Buy programme, which ended last year, helped borrowers buy 387,195 homes with £24.7bn of equity loans.

• Continue the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, which the government says has helped over 40,000 households buy a home and support shared ownership
• Complete leasehold reform by capping ground rents at £250, “reducing them to peppercorn over time”
• Pass a Renters Reform Bill that will “deliver the court reforms necessary to fully abolish Section 21 and strengthen other grounds for landlords to evict private tenants guilty of anti-social behaviour”

This bill was met with opposition by Conservative backbench MPs, some of whom were landlords, and ran out of time in the last parliament.

• Give councils have the powers they need to “manage the uncontrolled growth of holiday lets, which can cause nuisance to local residents and a hollowing out of communities”

Tax

• Scrap stamp duty for FTBs up to £425,000

This makes permanent the current rate, which was lifted from £300,000 during former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ 2022 mini-Budget — but is set to return to its former rate at the end of March next year.

• Introduce a Family Home Tax Guarantee, where the government “will not increase the number of council tax bands, undertake an expensive council tax revaluation or cut council tax discounts”

Under this guarantee, the government will maintain private residence relief, so that homes are protected from capital gains tax and will not raise the rate or level of stamp duty.

• Introduce two-year temporary capital gains tax relief for landlords who sell to their existing tenants

Planning

• Speed up the average time it takes to sign off major infrastructure projects from four years to one
• Deliver a record number of homes each year on brownfield land in urban areas.

The manifesto says it will do this by providing “a fast-track route” through the planning system for new homes on previously developed land in the 20 largest cities.

The number of homes it will build on brownfield land is not specified.

Industry reaction

Spicerhaart and Just Mortgages chief executive John Phillips on housebuilding targets: “Given the track record of governments on housebuilding figures, we should probably take this 1.6 million with a pinch of salt – especially as it struggled to meet its previous target of 300,000 homes per year.

“There’s no question that increasing supply is incredibly important and long overdue.”

Mortgage Advice Bureau new homes director Mobeen Akram on housebuilding targets: “Our hope is that the interest in building new homes continues long after the election, as the industry sorely needs more support.”

Hargreaves Lansdown head of personal finance Sarah Coles on FTBs: “There was a commitment to keep the temporary stamp duty holiday on homes costing up to £425,000 for FTBs, although there’s no matching commitment to extending the stamp duty holiday on homes for other buyers.

“It was an announcement that embodies a tax rise, positioned as a cut.”

MHA head of real estate and construction Atul Kariya on stamp duty: “This [the stamp duty permanent reduction] along with the announcement that they will scrap capital gains tax for landlords who sell to sitting tenants is very welcome. Both policies may provide the impetus required to get the housing market moving.

“We were surprised at the time of the Budget in March that there were no proposals on reducing stamp duty, given it would have a cost a fraction of the national insurance reductions and would have been popular FTBs and those moving up the property ladder and good for the economy by giving a boost to the construction sector.”

Pocket Living managing director Paul Rickard on planning: “Our planning system needs urgent intervention and resourcing, especially with regards to streamlining the process for unlocking small brownfield sites.

“Our small- and medium-sized enterprise housebuilders have never been fewer in number than they are today. Our ability to build new homes and the supporting infrastructure has never been under greater strain.”

Spicerhaart and Just Mortgages’ Phillips on Help to Buy: “Many across the industry have long called for a return to Help to Buy. While opinion is split on its legacy, there’s no denying its success in getting people onto the housing ladder.

“In its absence, shared ownership has become the only way for many to make their dreams a reality – especially in the current climate with clear affordability pressures. If successful, I’d like to see this include second-hand properties to increase the options available to FTBs.”

Generation Rent deputy chief executive Dan Wilson Craw on the private rented sector: “The only new policy is a tax break for landlords selling to their tenants.

“To really have an impact, a portion of this tax break needs to go towards a discount on the price for the tenant, otherwise few will be able to afford to buy out their landlord.”

Hargreaves Lansdown’s Coles on the private rented sector: “The manifesto promises a Renters Reform Bill, which would end no-fault evictions and shore up tenant rights.

“This had been in progress before the election was called, so this is a commitment to get it back on track.

“This is fundamentally good news for renters, but comes with a sting in the tail. If it persuades more landlords to sell up, it could mean even fewer rental properties around and even higher rents.”