VAT cut urged to help housing market

Date: 1st September 2008

The government has been urged to cut VAT on repair and maintenance work on properties in a bid to restart the housing market in the UK.

The call came as the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) published a study that showed housing sales were now at a 30-year low.

In a bid to rectify the situation, Rics published a set of suggestions to the government that it said would help the market - including cutting some taxes.

For example, it said that the government should seriously consider scrapping VAT on the repair and maintenance of properties to encourage landlords to bring more homes to the market.

Rics director of external affairs Gillian Charlesworth explained to the BBC: "The market needs decisive government action on a range of fronts if it is to pull itself out of the doldrums.

"We know there is no silver bullet that will slay this monster, but we need a joined-up, comprehensive approach to bring back confidence and to give the public clarity about what is available."

Richard Hyslop, the coordinator of a coalition of businesses that want to see VAT on this sort of work reduced to five per cent, added: "There are so many people and environments that would benefit from the cut in VAT."