IEA Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz was quoted in The Daily Telegraph criticising proposals from the Labour Party for new restrictions on foreign home ownership.

Kristian described the policy as an ‘electoral gimmick’ and went on to say:

“Most of the time when a foreign buyer buys a home here either they move here – in which case they are a British resident and are no longer foreign – or they leave that as a back-up option, but in that case it always makes sense to rent it out when you’re not actively using it.

“Leaving it empty would not be a clever option, and in practice, it doesn’t happen very often. The proportion of empty homes here is extremely low by international standards.”

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