2024 election manifestos – real estate policies of the UK major political parties

The major political parties have all now launched their manifestos, with few surprises.  In the table below, we compare and contrast the policies set out in the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Green Party manifestos insofar as they might impact on the real estate sector. 

Policy	Labour	Conservatives	Liberal Democrats	Green Party
House Building	• 1.5 million new homes within 5 years	• 1.6 million new homes within 5 years	• 10 new ‘garden cities’; 380,000 homes per year (1.9m homes in five years)	• Deprecates large scale house building and calls for small projects based on local planning decisions
Social Housing	• Prioritise the building of social rented homes • Review the increased 2012 right to buy discounts • Ringfence newly-built social housing	• Legislation for new ‘Local Connection’ and ‘UK Connection’ tests for social housing in England • ‘Three strikes and you’re out’ expectation of social housing landlords for anti-social behaviour of tenants	• 150,000 social homes • Introduction of ‘Right to own’ after thirty years of renting	• 150,000 new social homes a year • End the so-called ‘right to buy’
Planning Reform	• Update the National Policy Planning Framework • Restore mandatory housing targets • Fund extra planning staff from a new tax on non-doms • Prioritise brownfield development • Protect the green belt, whilst releasing low quality greenbelt land for development	• Abolish EU ‘nutrient neutrality’ rules thereby unlocking the building of 100,000 new homes with local consent; developers instead required to pay a one-off mitigation fee • Small developers relieved of s106 burdens • Planning regime to be simplified to speed up infrastructure projects • Fast-track the planning system for new homes on previously developed land in the 20 largest cities • Protect the greenbelt • Increase densities of housing in cities	• Significant net gain for biodiversity, with up to a 100% net gain required for large developments • Empowering Local Nature Recovery Strategies to identify a new Wild Belt to allow for nature to recover • Improved funding for planning departments	• Manifesto calls for reform in the most generalised of terms
Compulsory Purchase Reform	• Valuation based on actual land value not hope value	• Manifesto silent	• Valuation based on actual land value not hope value	• Manifesto silent
First Time Buyers	• Permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme, to support first-time buyers • Work with local authorities to prioritise giving first-time buyers the chance to buy homes • Power to stop selling developments being sold off-plan to international investors	• Permanently abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes up to the value of £425,000 • ‘Help to Buy’ scheme to provide first-time buyers with an equity loan of up to 20% towards the cost of a new build home • Continue the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme • Support shared ownership	• Manifesto silent	• Manifesto silent
Energy	• Private finance initiative for making homes warmer • Clean, British produced energy • Acceleration towards net-zero	• Scale up production of nuclear power • New gas power stations • Commitment to investment in renewable energy	• All new homes and non-domestic buildings to be zero-carbon standard, fitted with solar panels • Reintroduction of requirements for EPC C or above by 2028	• Huge investment in green forms of energy • Property-linked finance for residential landlords to carry out improvements; enhanced Building Regulation
Leasehold Reform	• Ending residential leasehold tenure • Commonhold to become the default residential tenure • Enhanced rights for freeholders on estates to challenge service charges	• Cap ground rents at £250, reducing them to a peppercorn over time • End the misuse of forfeiture • Make it easier to take up commonhold • Continue support for leaseholders affected by historic building safety problems	• Abolition of residential leaseholds • Cap ground rents to a nominal fee	• Manifesto silent
Renter’s Reform	• Abolition of ‘no-fault’ evictions • Introduction of ‘Awaab’s’ law to PRS (obligation to provide alternative accommodation during emergency repairs) • New rights for tenants to challenge rent increases	• A two-year temporary CGT holiday for landlords who sell their property to their existing tenants • Improve the civil justice system so as to process claims more efficiently and then abolish ‘no-fault’ eviction	• Immediate ban of no-fault evictions • Three year residential tenancies to be the default • National register of licensed landlords	• Right for local authorities to impose rent controls in ‘overheated’ areas • ‘Long term’ tenancies • Abolition of ‘no-fault’ evictions
Business Rates	• Replacement of business rates system • Revenue raised by ‘levelling the playing field between the high street and online giants’ to replace business rates • Commitment to tackling empty high street properties	• Manifesto silent	• Abolish business rates • Replace with a Commercial Landowner Levy	• Removal of business rate relief on Enterprise • Zones, Freeports, petrol stations and most empty properties