New Measures to Get Construction Moving

In UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s summer statement, the Government has outlined further stimulus in the form of a furlough bonus for employers, stamp duty holiday and £3 billion in green building plans to get the construction sector moving again.

A £2 billion Green Homes Grant was announced in the Chancellor’s speech, along with £1 billion to make public sector buildings greener. The Green Homes Grant will allow homeowners and landlords to apply for vouchers to help make their homes more energy efficient. The Government will also be covering at least two thirds of the cost up to £5,000 per household.

For those in low income households, the vouchers will cover the full cost of up to £10K, while social housing will receive £50 million to pilot green fit outs including wall insulation and heat pumps.

The scheme will be launched in September, with online applications, recommended energy efficiency measures, along with details of accredited local suppliers. Once the suppliers give a quote, the voucher will be issued.

These measures would see up to 650,000 homes retrofitted and it will create 140,000 green jobs, Mr Sunak claimed.

There is also to be a stamp duty holiday, which will exempt the first £500,000 of all property sales from tax. This is to start immediately, the Chancellor confirmed last week, and will continue until 2021.

Under these changes, homebuyers in England and Northern Ireland will not pay any tax in homes of up to £500,000 until 31 March 2020. The new changes apply both to first time buyers, and those who have owned property before.

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