Barely a month goes by when the property sector isn’t impacted in some way by proposed new legislation, schemes and apparent incentives.

Already this year we’ve witnessed debates around the impact that pension freedom will have on the buy-to-let market and proposals for the introduction of a ‘help to buy ISA’.  Yet it was the general election, just one month ago, that was always going to steal the limelight.

Now, with a majority government in place and the Queen’s Speech having been delivered we’re in a better position to analyse what’s in store for property and housing in the coming weeks and months.

In short there are three main measures to take notice of:

The Housing Bill will see the Right-to-Buy scheme, best known for its introduction under the Tory government of the 1980s, extend the opportunity to purchase their property at a discount to somewhere in the region of 1.3 million social housing tenants.

Whilst on face value this is good news for those people, it should be remembered that a good percentage simply won’t be able to afford the mortgage even if the property value is discounted.  Whilst for those tenants not in social housing, the challenge of getting on the property ladder remains.  Simply much more needs to be done to build new homes.

In response to this, the new Conservative government has committed that first-time buyers under the age of 40 will have the opportunity to purchase one of 200,000 starter homes at a discount of 20%.  Whilst this is a step in the right direction, there is still plenty that needs to be done to address the skills gap that will facilitate the rate at which these properties can be built.  Added to that, the bureaucracy that is so inherent in the current planning system needs to be reviewed and stripped back if the demand for new homes is to be met.

Finally, the government with its Immigration Bill has brought a potentially ominous new responsibility to landlords and letting agents.  Moving forward, and the timing is yet to be confirmed, they’ll have to carry out formal identity checks to ensure that all adult tenants have the right to be here in the UK – failure to do so could lead to penalties of up to £3,000.

Whilst these three developments provide a certain level of clarity for the property sector, their finer detail still needs to be worked through and published.  However, if you’ve heard enough to have some niggling questions remain then visit our Kingsbury branch where the team will be on hand to advise you on all the latest legislation and how it might impact you.  Otherwise visit www.andrewsonline.co.uk where there is plenty of advice and links to our full portfolio of services.