Housing policy should help first-time buyers

SIR – New rules on buy-to-let may end the dreams of older generations to have larger retirement funds (report, November 17) – but what about the dreams of younger generations to own a house?

My fiancée and I are trapped in an overpriced rental market, with the bulk of our money each month going on a small flat in London. The worst aspect of this situation is that our payments will not be rewarded by an asset at the end of our tenure. We do put money aside for savings, but the current rate of house price increases means this is a fruitless endeavour.

I am naturally very supportive of private enterprise, but buy-to-let has distorted the housing market – and the proposed measures to further tighten the rules are very much welcome for aspiring homeowners. George Paterson London W13 SIR – The suggestion to levy stamp duty on sellers instead of buyers (report, November 16) would be good for those moving to a bigger house, but bad for those moving to a smaller one – and would create an additional disincentive to downsize.

The only way to prevent stamp duty from distorting the housing market would be to scrap it completely, along with other disincentives to move, such as mortgage fees.

A compromise would be to scrap stamp duty on houses worth, say, £750,000 or less, which would remove most people from this tax. Another way to help would be to allow stamp duty to be paid monthly over a year – or several – instead of taking the full amount in one lump sum. David Kilpatrick St Albans, Hertfordshire SIR – It’s not just stamp duty that is a factor in house-buying and building.

In my area, the length of time that it takes to gain planning permission for even one dwelling also has a part to play, as does the slowness of completing the searches necessary before one’s home can be sold.

Added to this, of course, is the antiquated system of having to wait until everything is in place before a potential buyer will even contemplate exchange of contracts, meaning that any purchaser can pull out at the eleventh hour, after weeks or months of waiting and financial outlay. Roy Ellis Shrewsbury, Shropshire