22/12/2008 - VAT reductions for landlords urged
Three-quarters of a million empty homes are the target of calls to use reductions in VAT to help house some of the 1.6 million families on council-house waiting lists.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has said that most of those people could be housed if the Government backed a scheme to make empty properties habitable.
Local authorities have powers to issue Empty Dwelling Management Orders on properties that have been vacant for at least six months. The RICS says that it must now be made more attractive for the owners of empty properties to rent them out.
It suggested this might be done by reducing VAT on renovations and repairs from 15% to 5%. This is already the case for properties that have been empty for more than two years, and now needs to be applied to all properties, according to RICS.
The professional body claims that while the Government is helping homeowners avoid having their properties repossessed, little is being done for people who do not have a home.
Policy officer James Rowlands said: "Thousands of homes should not be allowed to stand empty while people are homeless or suffering from poor living conditions."
Copyright © Press Association 2008
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