Autumn Statement 2015 – Housing

Today saw the Chancellor deliver his first Spending Review & Autumn Statement since the General Election and whilst we did not see anything near as radical as the Stamp Duty and Capital Gains Tax Reforms of last year, there were still a few items to note in terms of housing:

The Review targeted:

• Buy to let landlords who will now get less tax relief on their mortgage interest payments. Full details yet to be announced.
• Home owners with lodgers will be able to earn £7,500 tax-free income from their house-guests each year.
• From 2017 there will be an extra £175,000 inheritance tax allowance for those who leave their homes to their children or grandchildren. This is on top of the £325,000 inheritance tax allowance allowed currently making the relief threshold £500,000. This is however, tapered away for those with estates of more than £2m. These new thresholds and allowances are also twice as high for married couples and civil partners, meaning they will now be able to inherit up to £1m tax-free from each other.

The latter will be certainly benefit anyone who has been left property as part of their estate which is a subject we have previously covered in our Probate Valuation blog.

In another announcement that slipped under the radar this week the Government firmed up its proposals to extend the Right to Buy to Housing Association tenants. The Right to Buy has already helped 2m families own their own home with the help of substantial discounts.

Peter Barry Surveyors regularly undertake valuations for both probate and Right to Buy. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss any matters such as these or to arrange a valuation. Our Head Office number is 020 7183 2578 or alternatively you can send us an email.