Budget leaves big gaps to be filled

Posted: November 27, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Benefit cap, Budget, Housebuilding, Local housing allowance, Rents | Leave a comment

Originally written as a column for Inside Housing.

Even if it had not been leaked in advance, this Budget could have been defined as much by what was not in it as what was.

The astonishing mistake made by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in uploading a report containing all the key measures before chancellor Rachel Reeves had started speaking came after weeks of well-sourced stories about them.

We already knew the headline measures: the abolition of the two-child limit; a council tax surcharge on high-value homes; and freezing income tax thresholds.

They were joined on the day by a private landlord tax (higher rates of income tax on income from property), confirmation of more money for the Warm Homes Plan and a welcome move to tackle the ‘benefit trap’ facing tenants in supported and temporary accommodation. 

But the Budget delayed one of the decisions most eagerly awaited by  social landlords: they will now have to wait until January for the government’s final decision on rent convergence, in effect how quickly they can increase their lowest rents above the CPI plus 1 per cent limit.

Three months on from the consultation closing, the Budget background document explains that: ‘While the government remains committed to implementing social rent convergence, it is important to take the time to get the precise details right, taking account of the benefits to the supply and quality of social and affordable housing, the impact on rent payers and affordability.’

And there was no mention at all of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) freeze, perhaps the housing issue raised by more organisations than anything else in the run-up to the Budget.

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What will the Budget do on tax and housing?

Posted: November 5, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Budget, Stamp duty, Tax | Leave a comment

Originally written as a column for Inside Housing.

With three weeks to go until the Budget, speculation is mounting about potential tax increases on housing. 

Hemmed in by a manifesto that ruled out increases in rates of income tax, national insurance and VAT, the chancellor will have been looking at other options like council tax, stamp duty, capital gains tax and inheritance tax. 

Rachel Reeves offered few specifics in her speech on Tuesday morning but it seems clear that tax increases are on the way that could have far-reaching effects on housing.

But while it’s easy to think of changes that might raise more money or be electorally popular, or make the tax system fairer or improve the functioning of the housing market, achieving more than two of those aims at the same time is a real stretch. 

Doing all four is near impossible – and that’s before we even get to the welfare side of the Budget and the looming questions about Local Housing Allowance, the benefit cap and the two-child limit.

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