The Guardian view on the UK housing crisis: no plan to fix it | Editorial
The Conservative party manifesto promised that when the party was in power it would charge foreign buyers of homes in England an extra 3% on the purchase price in stamp duty. Such levies have been used in Canada, Singapore and Australia to tackle housing crises. However, no mention was made of the charge in the Queen's speech. If it does not pop up in the budget the Conservatives would have missed a chance to show they understand how voters feel crowded out of the housing market while wealthy overseas buyers are crowded in.
Estate agents say the proportion of homes in England and Wales let by overseas-based landlords rose to 11% during the first 10 months of 2019, the first year-on-year increase since 2010. Nearly one in five of London's homes are rented out by people not based in the UK. The trend is not just visible in the capital. The east of England recorded the biggest jumps in the number of overseas landlords. People say they are being priced out of living in Manchester because of foreign cash.
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