Land for the Many – Not for Landlords

Land for the Many – Not for Landlords

8:13 AM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago 84

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The Labour Party have commissioned an ‘independent’ report titled “Land for the Many” that proposes changes in the way land in the UK is used and governed.

Key proposal headlines include:

Tenancies should be open-ended, and landlords should lose their power to evict a tenant who has not broken the terms of the tenancy agreement for the first three years of the tenancy agreement, and should have to provide grounds for eviction after that point.

Cap on annual permissible rent increases, at no more than the rate of wage inflation or consumer price inflation (whichever is lower)

Replace the council tax with a progressive property tax. This should be payable by owners, not tenants.

Stamp Duty Land Tax should be phased out for those buying homes to live in themselves, and capital gains tax for second homes and investment properties should be increased

Buy to Let mortgages should be more firmly regulated and restricted.

Discourage land and housing from being treated as financial assets by encouraging banks to redirect lending into productive sectors, and encourage a more efficient use of the existing housing stock.

The guiding principle of the report:

“The pursuit of luxury has been a common theme among thinkers on both right and left. But it is evident that there is neither the physical nor the ecological space for everyone to enjoy private luxury. If we all sought to own our own tennis courts, swimming pools, playbarns and art collections, Newcastle would need to expand to the size of London, and London would cover much of England.

But there is enough physical and ecological space for everyone to enjoy public luxury. We have room, even on these crowded islands, for magnificent parks, playing fields, public swimming pools, urban nature reserves and allotments sufficient to meet the needs of all. The expansion of public wealth in land creates more space for everyone, while the expansion of private wealth in land reduces the space available for others, at the cost of most people’s quality of life. The guiding principle of this report is private sufficiency and public luxury.”

Click Here to download the full report.

James Brokenshire, Housing Secretary, said: “These proposals are extraordinary and deeply damaging in equal measure. Labour will stop at nothing to hammer families with more tax and make home ownership a pipe dream for future generations.

“Plans to seize land into public ownership also show Labour’s true colours of more and more state control. This tax bombshell for families would mean family homes with gardens paying far more and higher taxes on pensioners by abolishing the single person discount.”

Labour’s spokesman for the Cabinet Office, said: “For too long, people across the country have had little or no say over the decisions that affect their communities and the places in which they live.  So much of this can be traced back to the broken system of land ownership. Concentration of land in the hands of a few has led to unwanted developments, unaffordable house prices, financial crises and environmental degradation.

“Labour is committed to tackling these head on and delivering a fundamental shift in wealth and power from the few to the many.”


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Comments

Richard Adams

13:23 PM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago

Corbyn is protesting publicly today at the Trump visit and seemingly proud to do so. Doesn't he realise that if we were the Marxist state he dreams of then there would be a knock on the door during the night and he would be carted off to a Gulag or worse.

Whiteskifreak Surrey

13:27 PM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Richard Adams at 04/06/2019 - 13:23
Nothing would give me more pleasure that him and Red McDonnell locked up in some Gulag. Not likely to happen though.
What really worries me - not on this forum though - is a general opinion on various social media that Corbynov is going to introduce Scandinavian type of socialism . So we are going to prosper under that like the Scandinavian countries do. I am not sure what is the situation with renting in these countries, but I do not believe there is an annihilation of private assets.

Tim C

13:34 PM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago

I truely hate Labour! To me they stand against the pursuit of the individual to improve his lot through hard work!

Having taken the time to read the full report (with the usual leftist authors that do not have to trouble themselves' with actually doing any real work let alone actually house anyone on far higher saleries than the average LL!) I do have some sympathies. It reminds me of interesting (but childish) debates I had with my Dad as a teenager about wealth inequality.

Philosophically land gain is ultimately unfair and a dead sink cost to society based on our feudal past. RTB I also believe was deeply flawed as is any form of discount applied to this. I accept these points and the report does make interesting reading

BUT

Land / property ownership and rights are the bedrock of modern capitalism and to adopt these measures will kill the economy faster than anything Brexit can do! Britain will become a Marxist basketcase but without the climate of Cuba...

If these half baked measures came to pass it would not only kill off the PRS but the entire free market making house prices go into freefall. This would also include the sainted first time buyer whoever thay may be - presumably recent leftist graduates lucky enough to be well saleried out of the public payrole... Not sure the new home owners from generation rent et al would be too chuffed about that...

Of course the truely wealthy will be able to get out or protect their assets in sophisticated shelters but the small aspirational individual that has tried to improve their lot will once again take the hammering... That is the Labour way though as it is really annoying to think that someone in your peer group may be doing a little better than you.

Oh and Mr Corbyn just how much is your house worth these days? You must have done very well out of the London market and made gains that us crude Northerners can only dream about... Your front garden is also a little shabby so maybe time to call in the council honchos to make sure you make some repairs and not let the street down...

If Labour got in I will try to sell what I can and live in a happier clime that still values hard work or at the very least has a decent climate!

If I can't sell I'll try to build something new up in the sun even if it means selling trinkets on the beach!

Chris Clare

13:48 PM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Gromit at 04/06/2019 - 12:15
Well if we can't do that then the whole thing will most definitely collapse and with that collapse will come the collapse of all the banks that hold our security as a sharp correction in house prices will leave mortgage companies without adequate security.

If banks start failing who is going to lend to those that can now afford to buy more affordable houses with a corrected housing market Doh!

This is the problem with Labour they just don't have the intellect to think through the consequences of these ridiculous ideas, sorry pipe dreams!

Socialism, nay communism is a lovely idea until you include human beings in the equation, when that happens it will always be floored, you only have to look at Russia China and Cuba. I have yet to see a communist society actually work.

Kathy Evans

13:51 PM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago

If there is no more council tax (or rates) how will Council build more housing and fund essential services (and they'll need to) as a property tax would either all be collected centrally by HMRC, or be collected in the area where the landlord lived, not necessarily where the property is located? It seems unfair to me as those with bigger families use more local resources, so should pay more locally. Anyone want to buy 5 houses in the North East?

Tim C

13:54 PM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Chris Clare at 04/06/2019 - 13:48
True Marxists like Corbyn want economic collapse though!

His refusal to attend the Trump banquet clearly demonstrate he does not want the best for the country regardless of what you think of Trump!

Chris Clare

13:58 PM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Tim C at 04/06/2019 - 13:54
I agree, I just wish the vacuous electorate who vote for him actually understood they would be sawing the branch they're sitting on.

Ian Narbeth

14:03 PM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago

Neil, Mark
I trust we won't have Corbyn's picture (or McDonnell's) on other pieces this year. It is upsetting my equilibrium and - I am sure - that of many other landlords on this forum.
Unless this is some kind of aversion therapy, STOP IT 🙂

Arnie Newington

15:56 PM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago

I think as a landlord I should be concerned and if I were a tenant I would also be concerned.

Jo Taylor

16:56 PM, 4th June 2019, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Whiteskifreak Surrey at 04/06/2019 - 08:53
Labour might have all sorts of ideas they need to get elected first. This is looking less and less likely. Their anti wealth and business ideologies would force the UK to borrow more money from international markets - they would impose strict economic conditions - non communist policies.

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