Councils 'should help young people to afford a mortgage'

Date:Friday 30th April 2010
Author: Susanna Kavka

It is vital that young people can afford a mortgage when they want to move out of their parents' house and local authorities can help by ensuring that there is enough affordable housing on the market, according to a government official.

Labour housing and planning minister John Healey explained in a Property Week webinar this week that councils have a "duty" to make sure that the aspirations of the individuals in their area are not been stifled by insufficient housing stock.

"We have to do more and our housing manifesto sets out the way that we will see councils build, before the end of the next parliament, at least an extra 10,000 new council homes each year," he remarked.

In his view, the Conservative party manifesto does not offer the same guarantee and would let the councils off the hook in a sense.

The Labour party has claimed that it will abolish stamp duty for 90 per cent of first-time buyers if it gets into power.