UKIP Manifesto Housing
The UK does not have a housing problem – it has a demand problem, with demand being fuelled by mass uncontrolled immigration. Supply of housing simply cannot keep up with demand. We cannot stabilise the housing problem until we have controlled immigration.
• One of the most significant problems has been that immigrants from the European Union have enjoyed access to social housing on the same basis as British citizens. Post Brexit, UKIP would end this.
• Overseas investors now purchase approximately 60% of residential new-build properties in central London, and around 30% overall,(3) thereby driving up property prices. These properties are often left vacant. UKIP will introduce a five-year residency qualification for any non-UK citizen buyer of residential property in designated areas in England. Rich foreigners will try to find loopholes no doubt, and government will have to try and close them.
• It should be possible to build one million new houses on brownfield sites. We will offer grants to bring this land into use.
• We will increase the supply of housing by identifying long-term dormant land held by central and local government that can be released.
• To ease the immediate problem, we will encourage the building of modular housing, made by British companies, which is inexpensive to build and highly energy efficient.
• UKIP will abolish Stamp Duty (see section 21. Taxation) thereby saving house buyers £16.2bn per annum.(4)
3 The role of overseas investors in the London new-build residential market. Final Report for Homes for London. Keith Scanlon, Christine Whitehead and Fanny Blanc with Ulises Moreno-Tabarez. London School of Economics May 2017.
4 Office for National Statistics April 2018
Read Full News Story » UKIP Manifesto
