Could the OFT deliver LVT?

jockox3 — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 22:17:53 +0100

The Office of Fair Trading today announced that it was to conduct a review of the UK's house-building sector. One of the aspects of the market it will be looking at is:

how land that is suitable for development is brought through the
planning process...and...how land with planning approval is
converted into new homes.

In the TV interview this evening with John Fingleton, the OFT's Chief Executive, he expanded on this a little, explaining that they will be looking at evidence as to whether, and if so why, the development industry "banks" land with permissions and whether incentives can be created for them developing such land more quickly once permission is given.

The OFT is an ideal body to investigate this, as it deals with matters of competition and monopoly, and, as we all understand, land, or at least location in this case, is a monopoly and developers holding land with permission out of the market for any period is an abuse of their position as monopoly owners of a commodity that the rest of the community need merely to subsist.

Long standing Liberal Democrat policy on the National Non-Domestic Rate (Business Rates) provides the only fair answer to this issue. We would charge Site Value Rating on all land not currently occupied as housing or zoned as agricultural. So owners of sites or potential sites with permission for housing would be taxed on the value of such land for that planning use whether they develop them or not, giving them a huge incentive to get on and build the homes and transfer that tax liability to the new occupiers.

The review will accept unsolicited comments, suggestions and evidence until 17th August, 2007 (see the PDF for more details)

The 1909 Group - Could the OFT deliver LVT? - Comments

Could the OFT deliver LVT?