(Reuters) - Labour Party is expected to announce plans on Thursday that will ban buy-to-let investors from purchasing new flats in London and other parts of Britain, the Financial Times reported.
The plans, part of the Lyons review authorised by Labour Party leader Edward Miliband, will allow first-time buyers to buy newly built homes, the FT reported. (http://on.ft.com/1F0fCIa)
Under the new plans, councils will be able to designate new "housing growth areas" with authority to assemble land and ensure that construction commences, the paper said.
"A significant proportion of homes on those sites cannot be bought by anyone before first-time buyers from the area have been given the chance." the FT reported quoting Ed Miliband.
The new rules are likely to be used by London boroughs and other city authorities where professional investors from Malaysia, Singapore and China often buy new properties, even before they are built, the FT said quoting a Labour Party aide.
The new rules come months after Labour Party alarmed landlords by announcing that landlords and tenants would be able to conduct a rent review no more than once a year and there would be a limit on any rent rises.
The Labour Party could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.
(Reporting by Ankush Sharma in Bangalorel Editing by Cynthia Osterman)