Yesterday's budget from Chancellor Philip Hammond revealed several key initiatives to help ‘generation rent’ get on the property ladder.

The headline policy saw Stamp Duty abolished for first time buyers purchasing a home worth less than £300,000 and, in more expensive areas, only paying Stamp Duty on a home’s purchase price between £300,000 and £500,000 at 5%.

This, he said, would remove 80% of all first-time buyers from the Stamp Duty net.

It was part of package that the Chancellor claimed was worth £44 billion in housing market support measures.

“It’s a very positive step for first time buyers buying homes under £300,000 and reduces a significant proportion of the costs faced by them which also include mortgage fees, saving up for a deposit and the cost of conveyancing,” says Sheraz Dar, CEO of CreditLadder.co.uk.

Rental payments

Philip Hammond also confirmed the government's commitment to helping rental payments count towards tenants' credit scores, saying it wanted more "innovative solutions that help first-time buyers ensure their history of meeting rental payments on time is recognised in their credit scores and mortgage applications".

Ending empty homes

Other measures announced by Hammond include doubling council tax for empty properties. This could increase the supply of both rented and new homes for sale on the market as home owners think twice about hanging on to empty properties.

Longer tenancies

Philip Hammond also said he wanted to incentivise landlords to offer longer tenancies – although no solid measures were revealed.

Universal credit

There was also good news for anyone who relies on Universal Credit to pay their rent. The Chancellor said he was going to spend £1.5 billion to make its payments system fairer, including the withdrawal of the seven-day waiting period when moving over to Universal Credit, which had been worrying many tenants.

It had also prompted some letting agents to issue 'pre-emptive' eviction warning notices should tenants have not been able to pay the rent.

Remember, CreditLadder can help you improve your credit score.

CreditLadder can improve your credit position by reporting your rent payments. CreditLadder is the first way to improve your credit score and position across all three of the main Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, namely Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Building up a high credit score has a lot of benefits, including helping you access finance at better rates - this can also help save you money. CreditLadder also runs a free mortgage application service in partnership with Tembo which will tell you how much you could borrow.

Remember the content provided in this article is for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice.