Property news from PWR Letting Agents Nottingham and Mansfield

Government's plan to reform stamp duty by raising the threshold to £250,000 is a good start but doesn't go far enough in helping to combat the housing shortage, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

"Following the Treasury’s positive recommendations for the Private Rented Sector (PRS) last month, we had high hopes for today’s budget. However, the Government has failed the PRS as the Budget offers nothing towards the long-term availability of enough affordable rented accommodation. Even the stamp duty changes won't have a positive impact on the PRS," said Ian Potter, operations manager of ARLA.

"The PRS is a fundamental element of any solution to help solve the potential shortfall in housing. But, again, Westminster has failed to address the need for robust policy in this area, both in terms of the improvement of stock or in incentivising landlord ownership. A quarter of the PRS is still sub-standard - either the Government is choosing to ignore this fact, or has simply run out of ideas."