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The Help to Buy programme helped many people into home ownership, and encouraged housebuilding, but...

Conclusion
The Help to Buy programme helped many people into home ownership, and encouraged housebuilding, but contributed to higher home prices and therefore exacerbated the housing affordability crisis overall. While some form of demand-side incentive may be necessary, it would not be appropriate to recreate Help to Buy as it was done before in the current environment. Any future demand-side interventions should aim to reduce year-on-year variability in homebuilding, as opposed to just a short-term fix to increase effective demand. (Conclusion, Paragraph 135) 58 Stamp Duty Land Tax
Addressee Bodies
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Timeline
Recommendation age 0.1 yrs
Report published 09 Jun 2026