Home Ownership: First-time Buyers

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

There are exemptions from stamp duty for first-time buyers, so that is not the case for them. First-time buyers benefit from paying no stamp duty land tax up to £300,000 and are able to claim relief on purchases up to £500,000. The Government are working closely with the Mayor of London. I will meet the deputy mayor for housing this week to talk about what further steps we can take to help the building of homes in London. It is not true to say that no housebuilding is moving forward. We had an increase in growth in the first quarter of this year.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, home ownership is important, but social housing must play a central role in meeting the housing needs of young people. Over the past year, government decisions have put the social housing sector in a much better financial position, so can the Minister confirm that enough funding will be made available in the first years of the social and affordable homes programme to match the ambitious bids that have been made to build the homes we so urgently need?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for her recognition of the huge amount of funding—£39 billion, which is the biggest in a generation—allocated by the Government for social and affordable homes to be built. At least 60% of those homes will be for social rent. On 28 January, we published the update to our five-step plan to deliver a decade of renewal. We have had a significant number of bids for the first round of that funding, which will give councils and social housing providers the certainty they need, with the rent convergence procedure we have also introduced. Bids closed on 15 April and we look forward to those houses being built.