First-Time Buyers

First-Time Buyers

Anas Sarwar will today pledge to help first-time buyers get on the housing ladder, with a package of measures to cut upfront costs, help people save for a deposit and bring empty homes back into use.

Mr Sarwar will say Scotland needs change after 20 years of SNP government and that a Scottish Labour government will fix the mess, get the basics right and build a better future for Scotland.

For too many young people and working families, the dream of owning a home is slipping out of reach. Home ownership among households with a highest earner aged 16 to 34 has fallen sharply, while more and more people are stuck paying high private rents that make it harder to save for a deposit.

That is despite the fact that the ambition to own a home remains strong. Most people in Scotland still want to buy their own home, including nearly two thirds of those in the private rented sector.

Scottish Labour will say the SNP has failed first-time buyers, leaving them trapped between rising rents, high upfront costs and a housing market that feels closed off to them. While the SNP reheats old policies that failed before, Scottish Labour will focus on practical support that helps people buy a home of their own.

A Scottish Labour government will raise the threshold for first-time buyers’ relief on Lands and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) to £200,000, saving buyers up to £1,100 and ensuring around 40 per cent of first-time buyers pay no LBTT at all.

It will also set aside more than 5,000 new mid-market rent homes for households who want to save for a deposit, giving them access to reduced rents so they can put more aside each month for a mortgage.

And Scottish Labour will launch a £1 homes scheme to bring long-term empty and derelict properties back into use, with councils given stronger powers to acquire neglected homes and government-backed loans made available to help renovate them.

All of this is just part of the party’s comprehensive plan to deal with the SNP created housing emergency. 

Scottish Labour will:

  • Build 125,000 new homes over the next five years, across all tenures. 
  • Deliver an expansion of affordable rents to cut housing waiting lists and reduce the rent burden so people can save for the future.
  • Overhaul planning laws and to unlock land and speed up approvals, and turn the SNP’s planning hub into a proper planning agency that will deliver the capacity and expertise that councils need to clear planning backlogs.
  • Establish a new Housing Investment Bank, to invest in land regeneration, offsite construction and help finance expansion of mid-market rent.
  • Create Housing Development Trusts who will be responsible for delivering affordable housing targets in every region with the power to creating their own construction companies where needed. 
  • Prioritise construction skills within Scottish Labour’s 9,000 new apprenticeships, training the workforce needed to deliver homes at pace and scale. 

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “Scotland has a housing emergency, and after nearly two decades of SNP failure, it is holding our country back.

“For too many young people, working hard and doing the right thing still is not enough to buy a home of their own.

“The SNP has failed to help first-time buyers and left too many people stuck paying soaring rents, unable to save and locked out of the housing ladder.

“I’m standing to fix the mess, get the basics right, and build a better future for Scotland.

“A Scottish Labour government will help first-time buyers by cutting the tax they pay, helping them save for a deposit and bringing empty homes back into use.

“That means raising first-time buyers’ relief so people can save on the tax bills that add costs to buying your first home, setting aside homes at reduced rent for those saving for a deposit, and turning neglected properties into homes that can be lived in and loved again.

“As First Minister, I will lead the biggest housebuilding revolution in the history of devolution – building 125,000 new homes over the next Parliament, across all tenures, social homes, homes for rent and homes to buy.

“We will change how Scotland finances and delivers housing for good, with a new Housing Investment Bank to support long term building, a £1 homes scheme to bring derelict properties back into use, and Housing Development Trusts with the power to deliver homes in every region.

“This is how we lift people out of poverty, create jobs, grow the economy, and give more families the chance to own a home.

“This is about making home ownership possible again, supporting working families and making sure more people can build their future here in Scotland.

“On May 7, vote Scottish Labour on both votes for the change Scotland needs.”