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Countrywide and its high-end brand Hamptons International have unveiled a 10-point plan to create what they call a healthier UK property market.

The firm, which is Britain's biggest agency group, unveils the proposal today at the MIPIM international property conference at Cannes in the south of France.

The firm says the aim of the research is to stimulate debate among agents, trade bodies, academics and government. The 10 points are:

Boosting the New Homes Bonus. It has so far funneled £3.3 billion to councils since 2011 and nearly six per cent of central government grant to local authorities will come from the NHB in 2015/16. Linking local government income and new home delivery could be a significant step towards creating local support for getting more homes built says Countrywide.

Redefining Greenbelt for modern needs. The agency group says the supply of new homes is particularly constrained in and around our growing cities. There are 80 railway stations in the Greenbelt on the fringes of cities across England, our research shows that there is enough unused land in areas within walking distance of those train stations to accommodate nearly half a million new homes.

Giving planners time to catch up with policy. Currently only half of planning authorities have plans fit for purpose under the National Planning Policy Framework. Allowing time for planning authorities to catch up will allow us to see if the plan-led system can work as intended says Johnny Morris, head of research at Hamptons International.

A new more permanent permitted development right for office to residential conversion. The time limit on the current right and constraints on changes to buildings means that few schemes falling with the PDRs have progressed. Allowing under utilised office space to be converted to housing without the need for full planning consent provides a welcome boost for housing delivery, while removing obsolete office space.

Helping the high street by widening the retail use classes. This would allow shops to adapt more quickly to local demand and promote footfall back into town centres according to Lambert Smith Hampton, a commercial arm of Countrywide.

Reforming business rates. Increasing the frequency of revaluations from five to two years, exempting small businesses entirely from business rates and allowing local authorities to set rate relief areas within town centres would be a significant step towards a fairer system, the agency says.

Reforming council tax. Our calculations show that updated bandings and the introduction of a new band I' could raise between £500m and £700m extra a year. We believe council tax reform offers a fairer and more practical alternative to a mansion tax says Johnny Morris.

Stability and transparency for landlords and tenants. More choice between standard tenancies for six months, one year and three years with transparent mechanisms for rental uplift would help make renting better for all parties, says Countrywide.

Making Build To Rent viable. Allowing local authorities to be more flexible with public land disposals, ensuring build to rent scheme are viable on scale, could be the key to significantly growing the institutional private rented sector. More flexible S106 agreements and conditions specifying schemes must be used for private rent would also be important tools, the group claims.

Sharing out shared ownership. Simplifying the re-sales market and ensuring those that manage to buy their home outright have the same rights as any other home owner are key steps to increasing the appeal of shared ownership, according to Countrywide.

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