Housing: Parties battle over help for first-time buyers and renters

The threshold at which first-time buyers start paying stamp duty was temporarily raised from £300,000 to £425,000 until April next year.

The Conservatives have pledged to keep it at that level permanently and claim that by not matching their plan, first-time buyers under Labour would face a tax bill of up to £11,250.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove, who is not standing for re-election, said the Conservatives had a “clear plan” to help people get on to the housing ladder, and accused Labour of “hammering hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers with a massive stamp duty increase from next April”.

However, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC: “In the Budget the government set out clearly its plan, that was costed, in relation to stamp duty and we will hold to that because it’s fully costed.”

He said the Conservatives’ proposal on stamp duty was “another example” of an unfunded commitment, which he would not follow.

Analysts point out that stamp duty is primarily paid by those buying larger homes, or in more expensive areas. Potential savings would not benefit everyone, as some would not need to pay it anyway.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the average house price for first-time buyers in Britain in April 2024 was £236,000, which would not be subject to any stamp duty.