The Conservative Party’s housing policies summarised

The Conservative Party manifesto has launched, with the catchphrase “get Brexit done” printed at the top.

Focusing on property however, here’s what the manifesto is proposing:

• Introduce long-term fixed rate mortgages. More • Charge non-UK residents a stamp duty surcharge. More • Abolish ‘no fault’ evictions – aka get rid of Section 21. • Give greater rights of possession to good landlords. • Enable councils to discount homes in perpetuity by a third for local people who cannot otherwise afford to buy in their area. They could use this to prioritise the likes of police, nurses and teachers. • Maintain a commitment to Right to Buy for council and housing association tenants. • Simplify shared ownership products by setting a single standard for all housing associations. • Ban the sale of new leasehold homes. • Get closer to the target of building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. Build at least a million more homes over the next parliament. • Simplify the planning system for the public and small builders. • Support Modern Methods of Construction. • Use stamp duty funds to tackle homelessness – expand the Rough Sleeping Infinitive and Housing First programmes. • Amend planning rules so infrastructure like roads, schools, GP surgeries come before people move into new homes, using a £10bn Single Housing Infrastructure Fund.