Help for homeowners - In Wales

The government has announced a package of measures to try and support homeowners facing problems because of the current decline in the housing market.

The measures include:

• stamp duty land tax of 1% will not apply to purchases of residential property of £175,000 or less. This is effective from 3 September 2008 and it will run for 12 months. Then stamp duty might be adjusted back down to the previous level of £125,000
• changing the way Income Support for Mortgage Interest works. The waiting period before payment will be reduced from 39 weeks to 13 weeks for new claims from April 2009. The capital limit for new claims will also be increased to £175,000 from April 2009.

Further measures which will apply in England include:

• the introduction of a new scheme called HomeBuy Direct. Buyers will be offered a loan of up to thirty per cent of the value of a property. The loan will be interest-free for five years and will be co-funded by the government and the housing developer
• the establishment of a rescue scheme targeted specifically at families who can no longer afford mortgage repayments and who would be eligible for homelessness assistance.

More details on these measures will be communicated by the Government in the coming days. You can get more information on the initial announcement from the Department for Communities and Local Government website at www.communities.gov.uk.