Help-to-buy robs Peter to pay Paul: Shelter

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Help-to-buy robs Peter to pay Paul: Shelter

A group of housing campaigners have criticised the government’s help-to-buy schemes, saying they only assist those who can already afford a home.

Giving evidence to the House of Lords economic affairs committee Toby Lloyd, the director of campaigns at Shelter, said the policy would only serve to increase availability on the demand side.

He said: “It is a perfectly legitimate aim of public policy to support people into home ownership and if the government chooses to use a subsidy to do that, that is its prerogative and is very welcome for some people.

“But when that is done at the expense of housing for people on low incomes it really is undermining the overall housing and economic health of the country and that is unfortunately what we are seeing.

“Help-to-buy is not an increase in subsidy; it is a direct shift in subsidy from homes for low income families to homes for better off people on incomes of up to £90,000 a year, in order to tip them over the margins into home ownership earlier.

“While that may be a laudable aim it must not be at the expense of genuinely affordable homes.”

Adviser view

David Wilson, managing director of Newcastle-based NE Money, said: “I have done a reasonable amount of help-to-buy and I am now remortgaging some of the original mortgages and they are going onto excellent rates because of their loan-to-value ratio.

“It has been working for the clients I have been dealing with.”