Our reaction to the Autumn budget

Published in Estates Gazette, Property Notify, React News and Place North West on the 17 & 18 of November.

Our reaction to the Autumn budget – news that corporation tax will still rise from 19% to 25% in April and the reinforcement of the commitment to the climate pact. Lee Fraine, head of Building Services & Sustainability and Nick Fell, head of residential at Rapleys commented:

Lee Fraine says: “Unfortunately, the rise in corporation tax and the halving of the CGT allowance will inevitably have a knock on effect on sustainable spending, despite the commitment to reducing energy emissions by 68% by 2030. Businesses that had allocated investment towards sustainable infrastructure will likely reroute this back to their corporation tax provisions for example.”

Nick Fell says: “Given the focus on settling the economy, we did not expect the budget to have many commitments to boost funding in the built environment. A rent cap of 7% will help mitigate against the 11+% predicted rise and help the most vulnerable tenants, but it won’t help much needed long term investment into the sector. At a time where affordability is at an all-time low and 2.8m families in England alone live in substandard rental accommodation ranging from draughts to hazardous air quality, the focus must firmly be on how to fix the affordable housing sector more structurally.”