Tories promise to scrap stamp duty and green building rules in housing shake-up
The shadow housing secretary told the party's Birmingham conference that ditching the Future Homes Standard could cut 50,000 pounds from the cost of a new home, as the Conservatives unveiled their most ambitious deregulation pitch yet.
Katie Lam has promised that a Conservative government would abolish stamp duty on home purchases and scrap the Future Homes Standard, unveiling a housing package she said could cut the cost of a new-build home by up to 50,000 pounds.
Addressing the party's conference in Birmingham on Monday, the shadow housing secretary said Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy would be swept away and replaced with a single developer charge, and that a swath of planning and housebuilding rules would be removed.
She warned that "building anything in this country is too expensive and it takes too long", saying the cost and delay made it "unbelievably difficult for aspirational young people to get on the housing ladder, while reservoirs, roads, and bridges are held up for years, with disastrous consequences".
Building anything in this country is too expensive and it takes too long.Katie Lam, shadow housing secretary
At the heart of the offer is the repeal of the Future Homes Standard, the green building rules due to take effect next year that would require developers to fit new homes with low-carbon heating such as heat pumps or district heat networks. Scrapping stamp duty on property purchases is already established Conservative policy.
Party researchers cited a 2023 Birmingham City Council document which found that energy-efficiency measures, heat pumps and comprehensive solar panel installation could add 30,789 pounds to the cost of building a detached home. The same document estimated the measures would cut energy bills by 2,715 pounds a year, meaning the investment would pay for itself within about 11 years.
The property industry gave the proposals a guarded welcome. Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: "Scrapping Stamp Duty would also remove a significant barrier to moving home and could help improve mobility across the housing market." He added a caution: "The £50,000 saving claim will also need to be tested against whether those savings reach consumers."
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