No stamp duty on zero carbon homes until 2012

Gordon Brown announced on March 27, 2007 that from October 1st of 2007, all carbon free homes up to the value of £500,000 would be exempted from stamp duty until September 30th 2012. The decision to reward buyers of carbon neutral homes with no stamp duty illustrates the direction the government envisions in future home energy efficiency.

The 2007 budget was the first stage in the plan to make all new homes built after 2016 to adhere to the zero carbon regulations.

A carbon free house is a property with "zero net emissions of carbon dioxide from all energy use in the home" and includes energy consumed by any household appliances and heating and ventilation.

Currently there are very few zero carbon homes in the UK. To meet the government’s targets, any new buildings will need to be extremely energy efficient and produce enough energy to cancel out the small quantity of emissions it does create. The new energy restrictions are predicted to create a huge growth sector in the sustainable energy sector.

Households are responsible for roughly a quarter of the UK’s total carbon emissions. The 2007 budget is the latest step towards attempting to reform house-holders’ attitudes as to how they run their home. Currently however, it is very difficult to adapt any existing building to zero carbon status to achieve the stamp duty waiver. Consequently, the Government has directed this particular section of the budget towards the new build market.

Managing director of The Renewable Energy Center, Richard Simmons, stated "Public demand for an energy efficient home is certain to rise rapidly as buyers rush to take advantage of the stamp duty waiver and as a result the UK’s house building industry will be forced to rethink their approach to future building projects." He went onto say, "In order to help companies and homeowners consider a greener approach TheRenewableEnergyCentre.co.uk is an invaluable resource. It contains a fully comprehensive national directory of specialist contractors and suppliers in this arena. The site would also be an invaluable tool for both small and large building companies to source products and expertise in looking to meet the new carbon neutral targets."

The sudden growth in market demand for energy efficient homes may seem like a profitable business option. Many companies are interested in joining this growth sector, but feel the government needs to invest in carbon free technology to lower the cost for the initial consumer.

The budget is the first to concentrate on environmental issues, and signifies a new direction that the government is taking in energy efficiency laws. Some environmentalists say that the laws are only token gestures, where others say that the laws are unrealistic due to a lack of affordable technology. Clearly the government understands the vital matter regarding cutting the energy emissions from existing UK homes and is making its first step towards UK's low carbon emissions.

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