Several industry voices have shared their opinion or desires for next week’s budget, with John Healey set to make announcements related to tax and devolution
Alongside changes to local taxes and funding, the Autumn Budget 2026 is expected to see a crackdown on ‘cowboy builders,’ including a new trader register to allow businesses to demonstrate that they meet standards.
Details of the new first-time home buyer scheme will also be announced, allowing buyers to get a mortgage with just a 2.5% deposit, and hopefully stimulating the housebuilding market.
Below, industry experts share their desires, opinions, or warnings
Kelly Macfarlane, CEO – social infrastructure at United Infrastructure: “The latest figures showing record spending on temporary accommodation highlight the scale of the housing challenge facing the UK.
“It’s a reminder that housing has an impact far beyond the homes themselves. Safe, warm and secure homes are some of the most important social infrastructure we have.
“When families move into decent, permanent homes, the benefits extend far beyond the front door. Health outcomes improve, communities become stronger, educational outcomes can improve, and pressure on public services, specifically the NHS, can be reduced.
“That’s why the conversation shouldn’t just be about the cost of temporary accommodation. It should be about the long-term value of investing in existing homes.
“As we look ahead to the Budget, continued support for housing investment has the potential to deliver lasting benefits for residents, communities and the public sector alike.
“We’ve long believed that housing is health infrastructure. The quality of homes directly influences quality of lives, communities and outcomes.”
Nick Statman, CEO of Bettermove: “There’s no doubt the property market is having a difficult time.
“Inflationary pressures are keeping borrowing costs elevated, and when lenders increase mortgage rates, the impact is felt right across the market. Buyers can afford less, sellers struggle to achieve their asking prices, and transactions start to slow down. Whilst demand hasn’t disappeared as people still need to move, we’re noticing that they’re understandably more cautious about making big financial decisions.
“Given the state of the public finances, I’m not expecting the Chancellor to announce any major giveaways for the property sector.
“My concern is that the Government could end up making an already difficult market worse by introducing further costs for homeowners, landlords and businesses. We need to encourage investment, construction and transactions, not create more reasons for people to sit tight.
On the Your First Home scheme: “I suspect we’ll see in this Budget targeted support for first-time buyers alongside measures intended to raise additional revenue. I welcome anything that helps people onto the property ladder. The Government’s proposed Your First Home scheme could be helpful, particularly for people struggling to save a deposit while paying rent. The principle of a 2.5% deposit and a 20% equity loan is a good one, provided the scheme is affordable for buyers over the longer term.
“However, I’d like to see this scheme extended to existing properties and accompanied by measures that increase housing supply. Otherwise, there’s a risk that additional support simply pushes prices higher.
“It would also be good for support to extended beyond new-build homes. There’s a huge amount of existing housing stock that could be suitable for first-time buyers, and we need to encourage movement throughout the whole property ladder.”
“If the Budget encourages people to buy, sell, invest and build, that would be a positive outcome. My concern is that further taxation and uncertainty could have the opposite effect.”
Adam Jennings, head of residential at Chestertons: “Andy Burnham has already put forward a number of measures aimed at supporting households and improving affordability, which is a positive step and shows that there is a clear focus on helping people navigate what remains a challenging housing market.
“However, the real test will be whether these ambitions translate into realistic and sustainable measures that can make a meaningful difference. The Budget will be an important indicator of what we can expect from the housing market as we move towards 2027, particularly when it comes to affordability and helping more people take their first step onto the property ladder.
“The ‘Your First Home’ approach is positive in principle, particularly if it can provide genuine support for those struggling to bridge the gap between renting and homeownership. But ultimately, the success of any initiative will depend on how accessible it is in practice, and whether it addresses the wider affordability pressures facing prospective buyers in London.
“There has clearly been effort to put housing firmly on the agenda. Now, the Budget needs to provide the clarity and realism needed to turn that ambition into actual support for buyers and the wider market.”
Tim Sargeant, chairman of City & Country: “This Budget feels like a reset for the Labour Government – with a new Prime Minister and Chancellor steering the ship. This is Labour’s chance to clarify its economic priorities and, more importantly, explain how it intends to pay for them.
“I don’t imagine there will be any rabbit out of the hat announcements for the property sector. The new Your First Home Scheme will give us plenty to get to grips with, though as more details are revealed, the programme will perhaps be less generous than initially hoped.
“The changes I would like to see are not so neatly summarised into a soundbite or single headline announcement. What we need is a radical shift in how Government views housebuilding. If roads, rail and energy are recognised as essential infrastructure, housing should be too.
“Government should therefore stop seeing housing principally as something to tax and regulate, and start recognising it as an engine of growth. This needs to be achieved by stimulating activity and generating tax revenues through healthy growth, rather than putting greater financial burden on the most productive sectors. The OBR’s own data shows that reforms unlocking 170,000 additional homes could increase GDP by 0.2%, worth around £6.8bn in today’s prices.
“Ultimately, more homes mean more jobs, more opportunities for first-time buyers, stronger communities with better infrastructure and ultimately greater tax revenues generated through growth.
“Fairer taxation, a more stable policy environment that reduces risk, and greater support for smaller and medium-sized builders will enable them to compete again. The single greatest thing that it could do is undertake a full review of the cumulative tax and regulatory burden placed on housing delivery, ensuring each new measure is assessed not in isolation but for its impact on the viability of building new homes.”
Support is “welcome and much needed”
Adrian Watts, chief executive, Croudace Homes: “The support for first-time buyers that was recently announced through the Your First Home scheme is welcome and much needed. However, to stimulate the wider housing market, there is also a need to support other buyer demographics and encourage movement across the property ladder. Targeted Stamp Duty Land Tax relief, for example, could help unlock transactions and boost confidence across the market.
“Alongside measures to stimulate demand, the Budget should also address the cost of delivering new homes. Housebuilders continue to face significant cost pressures, with additional regulatory requirements and levies adding to the challenge of bringing forward viable developments. The Building Safety Levy is one example of how these costs risk placing further pressure on development viability.
“Ultimately, supporting buyers must go hand in hand with supporting supply. The Budget should recognise both sides of the equation if the Government is to improve access to homeownership and deliver on its ambition to build 1.5m homes.”
Trevor Dempsey, CEO of Dandara: “The Autumn Budget comes at an important moment for the housing industry. There is no shortage of ambition around increasing supply and helping more people into new homes, but the test now is whether the Government can turn that ambition into measures that give buyers and the industry the confidence to act.
“The launch of ‘Your First Home’ is a welcome step, particularly for first-time buyers who do not have access to family wealth. But reducing the deposit hurdle is only part of the affordability equation. Buyers need confidence that the homes they are purchasing will remain within their own cost of living budget following the deposit assistance.
“The same principle applies to housing supply. If the current Government is still genuinely serious about delivering 1.5m homes in this parliament, then we need policy and an environment that supports both demand and delivery. Developers need certainty around planning, infrastructure and the wider costs of bringing new homes forward. Without that certainty, new investment decisions are so much harder to make for house builders.
“We would like to see the Autumn Budget focus on removing the barriers that are holding back both buyers and housebuilders. Measures that improve access to new housing are important, but they need to sit alongside action that makes it viable to build the homes that buyers and renters need. At the same time, we need to ensure that housing delivery meets the needs of communities, today this means facilitating multi-tenure housebuilding at scale.
“The housing market has been waiting for greater clarity for some time. The Budget is an opportunity to provide it. What matters now is not simply announcing more ambition, and more taxation, but creating the conditions for people to buy, developers to build and the market to move forward with confidence.”
Matt Glazer, co-founder and director at GLPG: “This Budget could be a make-or-break moment for the Government’s first-time buyer plans, with Chancellor John Healey expected to set out further details of the ‘Your First Home’ scheme.
“Getting the price caps right will be crucial. Housing markets vary significantly across the country, so a regional approach, similar to the previous Help to Buy scheme, is needed. In London, for example, a £600,000 cap would better reflect local property values. If thresholds are set too low, many first-time buyers could find there are simply too few homes available to them.
“It’s also important that the Government provides greater support for those looking to buy existing homes, rather than focusing solely on new builds.
“First-time buyers play an important role in getting property chains moving, enabling existing homeowners to take their next step too. Supporting them across the wider market could therefore stimulate activity well beyond first-time buyer purchases alone.”
Paul Godfrey, CEO of The Gracie Group: “As we approach the Autumn Budget, the Government has an opportunity to demonstrate how its housing ambitions can translate into more homes being built, greater access to homeownership and a development sector that is able to invest with confidence.
“For developers, the central issue remains viability. Rising construction costs, planning delays, infrastructure requirements and an increasingly complex regulatory environment can make even well-conceived schemes difficult to deliver. That is particularly relevant to regeneration, where the upfront costs of bringing a site back into use can be substantial.
“Measures such as the proposed Your First Home scheme may help some first-time buyers overcome the deposit barrier, but supporting demand is only part of the equation. We also need to address the underlying reasons why it has become so expensive and difficult to build new homes in the first place.
“At the same time, we need to consider the wider tax environment in which the property sector operates. The planned increase in tax on rental income from April 2027 and the High Value Council Tax Surcharge due from April 2028 add to the range of costs and considerations facing property owners and investors. There is a legitimate debate to be had about how property is taxed, but policy needs to take account of its wider effects on investment, housing supply and the choices available to people at different stages of their lives.
“The Government should therefore use the Budget to look at the cumulative impact of its policies, rather than treating each measure in isolation. We need to maintain high standards and deliver the housing communities require, but we also need to ensure that the economics of development allow schemes to progress.
“With changes to property taxation under discussion, clarity and certainty are especially important. Businesses and investors need to be able to make long-term decisions based on a reasonably predictable policy environment.
“Ultimately, the test of this Budget should be whether it helps more homes get built, supports homebuyers and gives developers the confidence to invest. We need a housing strategy that brings together a functioning planning system, sensible taxation and a financially sustainable private sector. These are all complementary parts of the same solution.”
“Longer-term view of energy efficiency” needed
Oliver Luard, partnerships and investment director at Greencore: “The Government should focus less on headline-grabbing announcements in this Budget, and more on creating better conditions for delivery. There is already welcome support for first-time buyers via a new equity loan scheme.
“Early details show that developers will be expected to contribute to the Your First Home scheme. The structure must be carefully considered to ensure that it is fair and equitable for all housebuilders, and doesn’t disproportionately favour the largest volume housebuilders, leaving SME developers at a disadvantage. Smaller developers play a vital role in delivering sustainable, design-led schemes and increasing housing choice.
“The Budget also needs to take a longer-term view of energy efficiency beyond tweaks to the energy price caps or small-scale retrofit schemes. Households are exposed to energy price shocks resulting from global events outside of their control. Rather than focusing solely on interventions, Government should do more to encourage the delivery of homes that permanently reduce energy demand and household bills.
“While policy levers are an important aspect, the Government must prioritise a national programme of housebuilding that low, or ideally zero, energy bills homes. Developers who go further should be recognised and incentivised to do so, helping create a housing stock that is more affordable to run, more resilient and better for the environment.”
Jerry Tate, founder and director at Tate+Co: “If the numbers do not add up, homes do not get built. Viability and funding remain consistent challenges in the residential market, and the industry needs the Budget to address this. Upfront seed funding to get schemes started, as well as dedicated support to bring stalled projects back into delivery and properly resourced planning authorities would all help housebuilders get building again. But delivery also must include homes that people can afford to live in. We want to see funding commitments, including the Your First Home scheme, translated into practical support that gives developers the confidence to proceed and buyers a realistic prospect of securing a future home.
“The same practical approach is needed across other sectors. In education, funding to retrofit existing buildings would help improve the places where young people learn, while targeted investment for key learning areas, such as AI, would help to futureproof spaces. For hotels and leisure businesses, easing the burden of business rates and property taxation would give them more room to invest in their buildings and improve the experience for visitors.
“We all know the Government faces difficult financial choices. However, the built environment needs support to unlock development, without requiring huge spending increases. Targeted tax incentives, business rates reform and a planning system with the resources to make timely decisions could help bring forward projects that are currently standing still. The purpose should be clear: to make development viable so that we can deliver the homes, schools and hospitality buildings people want and need.”
Simon Cox, managing director, Walter Cooper: “Against the backdrop of significant economic and geopolitical pressures, I’m not expecting this Budget to deliver a housing spending bonanza – the Government doesn’t have the room to do that anyway.
“Housing doesn’t actually need another big-ticket intervention, which the market has seen a lot of in recent years. What it does desperately need, however, is confidence. The big question now is whether the Government can create the conditions for people and businesses to believe that they can plan, invest and build with some certainty.
“The Your First Home scheme is a good example, although its success will come down to the detail. Will the scheme genuinely increase purchasing power, or simply add another layer of support around a market that is already struggling with affordability? Get it right, and it could give buyers a much-needed boost while giving housebuilders greater confidence that the demand will be there.
“That confidence matters because housebuilders are already navigating a difficult combination of planning delays and viability pressures. If the Budget simply prolongs that uncertainty, it risks making it harder to get new sites moving, regardless of how ambitious the Government’s housing targets are.
“It’s easy to focus on the homes at the end of the process and overlook what needs to happen further upstream. Land may not grab the headlines, but without a steady supply of viable sites, there is nothing to build on. If the Government wants to deliver more homes, it needs to make sure the conditions are there for land to come forward.
“The same applies to affordable housing. Targeted measures that improve viability, unlock stalled schemes or support affordable delivery could have a much wider impact than their initial cost might suggest. They can help turn sites that are currently unviable into homes that can actually be built.
“So, while I’m not expecting the Budget to solve the housing crisis overnight, I do think it needs to do something arguably more important – give the industry a reason to keep investing.
“When the dust settles, the real test will be whether housebuilders and landowners feel more confident about bringing sites forward than they did before the Chancellor unveils his red box. If the answer is yes, the Budget will have done something meaningful for housing. If not, we risk simply kicking the can further down the road.”
John Rozenbroek, managing director of Capify, on late payments for small businesses: “The priority should absolutely be certainty. Small businesses simply can’t make confident decisions about hiring and investment if taxes, employment costs and support keep changing the way they have been.
“The Government should provide a clear, long-term framework and avoid adding further costs to employing people and growing a business.”
“Tackling late payments would make an immediate difference. Larger organisations and the public sector should be held to proper payment standards, while viable SMEs need access to funding when cash is tied up in unpaid invoices.
“A profitable business should never have to miss an opportunity just because a customer paid 30 or 60 days late.”
“The financial challenge the Budget simply must address is the working-capital squeeze. Customers may pay late, but payroll, tax bills and suppliers do not move with them at the moment.
“Better payment practices and access to responsible finance would give SMEs the room to absorb pressure, invest and act while an opportunity is still readily available.”
Tom Rowlands, managing director at Global EV Solutions at Corpay, on electrification of business vehicles/fleets: “We cannot ask fleets to electrify faster while making electric vehicles harder to operate.”
“The practical reality for businesses is becoming more complex. Fleets are already managing home, workplace and public charging, different reimbursement arrangements and changing tax treatment. From April 2028, electric cars will also become subject to the new mileage-based Electric Vehicle Excise Duty, initially set at 3p per mile for battery-electric and hydrogen cars and 1.5p for plug-in hybrids.”
“At the same time, investment decisions are being made against a changing policy backdrop. The current 100% first-year capital allowances for qualifying zero-emission cars and EV chargepoints presently run only until spring 2027.”
“For businesses investing over several years, that lack of long-term visibility makes planning more difficult than it needs to be.”
“The next stage of electrification has to be about operational simplicity. Clearer policy, practical administration and greater certainty over future costs will help fleets make the transition with confidence rather than adding another layer of complexity to an already significant investment decision.”
Lisa Wilson, partner at law firm Spencer West LLP: “Chancellor John Healey, as many Chancellors before him, has the unenviable task of achieving balance in UK taxation and spending. Whilst there have been a few property rumours in the press, they are notably quieter than in years gone by.
“Over the Summer months there was chatter around an ‘Autumn Bounce’ for the UK Property Market, but this has not materialised in practice.
“The widely-hoped ‘Autumn Bounce’ for the UK property market has failed to materialise. Buyers remain cautious, mortgage products are rapidly changing, and transactions are being delayed to the point where this can no longer be viewed as a seasonal slowdown.
“Prior to the 2025 Budget I certainly felt that buyers were holding in making any big property decisions until the Budget was announced later than usual at the end of November 2025. The market therefore entered 2026 carrying the effects of those deferred decisions.
“Winter led into Spring, where we would normally see more activity in terms of sales and purchases completing, but the eruption of the Iran War, had an instant upwards impact on UK mortgage rates, leading to more Buyer uncertainty.
“The introduction of the Renters Rights Act, and abolition of ‘No Fault’ evictions from 1 May 2026 has impacted upon market activity. Leading up to the 1 May deadline, Agents and Landlords worked hard to serve Section 21 Notices whilst they still could.
“The evictions meant lots of investment properties were up for sale, but with increasing mortgage rates and Buyer uncertainty, buyer appetite was perhaps not what Landlords were expecting. Many of those properties are still sat on the market without tenants or buyers. Could new Investor Buyers be the answer?
“I would welcome reform to Stamp Duty in the 2026 Budget in the form of reduced rates for Additional Properties to help restore liquidity. This would bring new investors to the market who are entering with 2026 laws and taxation already in place, rather than having to adjust existing plans retrospectively.
“In any market, buying property should be viewed as a long-term investment to weather inevitable political storms. By long term, I suggest 10-20 years – gone are the days of making a ‘quick buck’ in property. Let’s wait and see if The Chancellor prioritises property, as after all, a strong property market means a strong economy.”
The post Autumn Budget 2026 construction wishlist appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
