industry news


New pressure group lobbies for more housing and jobs in the north


North, which will work on producing bespoke solutions for communities facing a raft of problems.


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“Among the early beneficiaries of their work could be students and recent graduates who are currently finding it difficult to get a suitable home and a job in the region”


Among the early beneficiaries of their work could


be students and recent graduates who are currently finding it difficult to get a suitable home


group of 20 housing associations operating in the north of England have formed a new group, Homes for the


and a job in the region. The new group are looking at how to build homes to appeal to graduates based on a research project with northern universities. Mark Henderson, Chief Executive of Home


Group and chair of Homes for the North, said tackling the UK’s housing problems started by recognising that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is destined to fail. He added that the new group was keen to look


at how to retain university graduates and young people in the region. It could look at offering shorter tenures for a younger, more mobile demographic, amid concerns that there is a lack of housing options for younger people in the north of England. At the group’s launch event, Mr Henderson said


housing should be part of the devolution deals being offered by the Chancellor George Osborne, to “attract and retain the best and the brightest to work in the north”.


Number of companies holding UK properties revealed by HMRC


names. Since 2012, the government has sought to discourage owner occupiers buying in corporate wrappers (otherwise known as Non-Natural Persons or NNPs). To disincentivise corporate purchases and, at


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the same time, raise much needed revenue for the UK economic recovery, the government introduced hefty tax charges on properties worth over £2 million. This included the introduction of a 15 per cent slab-style Stamp Duty payment and an Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) which increases by price bands to as much as £218,000 per annum. In the December 2014 Autumn Statement, the government quietly increased the original rates by 50 per cent. It is also extending the properties captured to values starting from £500,000. However, until the release of this latest data,


which records the number of properties paying the ATED to December 2015, the extent of the perceived problem has been merely speculation. An analysis by London Central Portfolio (LCP) reveals that just 3,990 properties are owned by NNPs for owner-occupation nationwide, or just 0.02 per cent of the UK’s total housing stock. Properties bought by NNPs for commercial purposes (e.g. rental and development) which do not pay the tax but are required to notify HMRC, amount to just 3,040 properties nationwide.


NAPIT issues Amendment 3 update for consumers


to the 17th Edition Wiring Regulations relating to consumer units. From 1 January 2016, it became mandatory for


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any consumer units installed or replaced in domestic properties to be made of or enclosed by a non-combustible material, ferrous metal such as steel. Existing plastic consumer units can be retained for alterations and additions, unless they show signs of thermal damage or the


APIT has created a leaflet for installers to present to their customers on the recent changes brought about by Amendment 3


manufacturer's design has been altered. “As we spent much of last year preparing


installers for Amendment 3, it seemed a logical step to also provide information for householders to get to grips with the changes,” said Frank Bertie, the NAPIT Trade Association Chairman and NAPIT Technical Director. NAPIT’s leaflet is available as a free download


from the membership website for installers to print off as many copies as they need to distribute to current and potential customers: www.napit.org.uk/downloads


14 | HMM March 2016 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk The headline statistics:


• HMRC data shows that just 3,990 properties nationwide are currently owned in NNPs for owner-occupation.


• 63 per cent are valued between £2 million - £5 million, 23 per cent between £5 milion - £10 million, 14 per cent above £10 million.


• The band for properties over £20 million, which would most likely be aligned to so-called ‘oligarch mansions’, includes only 230 properties.


• In terms of value, total ATED tax receipts for 2015 totalled £116 million to the benefit of the UK economy.


• The total number of properties bought over £10 million recorded by Land Registry since the ATED tax was introduced in 2012 has increased five times from 13 to 65.


nalysis of recently released official government statistics reveals the number of homes owned in company


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