Written on 18 November 2013 by Alistair Boscawen in Property News
Developers set to be threatened with land confiscation unless they start building immediately in a bid to avoid ‘land banking’…
Housebuilders will be told they can no longer ‘sit on’ land they’ve got planning permission on in a bid to introduce stricter rules on ‘land banking’. Planning minister Nick Boles has scrapped a 2008 measure which allowed three-years permissions to be easily extended. This is in order to prevent developers exploiting the loophole and hoarding plots for years as they wait for house prices to rise before starting to build homes.
The move comes after Labour leader Ed Miliband said at his party conference that if his party wins a majority in 2015 they would introduce a policy to seize land if developers refuse to build. Now the current coalition has decided it’s time to act too; as developers will be likely to build large new complexes if they fear development taxes or state confiscation of land. For more information read on below:
image from freedigitalphotos.net
