Taylor Vinters - Solicitors

The government is unlikely to act to help the commercial property market during the recession, according to Capital Economics.

Ministers have "bigger fish to fry" than worrying about the commercial property market, claimed property economist at the consultancy Kelvin Davidson.

He does not believe there will be any new legislation introduced to boost the market, noting that figures suggest the sector is heading towards the end of its correction.

He said: "[The government] haven't moved on any of the Reit legislation despite lobbying from the property industry and they haven't moved on the empty rates issue.

"For the market as a whole, there are still further falls to come, but the worst is behind us."

His comments follow the publication of new figures by the Investment Property Databank, which indicated that capital values declined by 0.9 per cent in June, the smallest decline since August 2007.

Capital values have fallen by 30.8 per cent in the last 12 months.

Michaela Henson, Head of Taylor Vinters Property Group said: "The lack of intervention particularly on empty rates is disappointing news. The government seems to be unaware of the extra pressure empty rates liability puts on landlords when they lose tenants in an already difficult market.

"This also affects a number of tenants who have liability under a lease but who have no immediate requirement for the property, for example due to downsizing. Building stock has been partly demolished or not completed in some cases to avoid substantial additional liabilities.

"The reliefs available for empty commercial properties were partially removed before the downturn and no action has been taken to address the poor timing of this change. This sort of taxation holds back the market rather than encouraging recovery. With public finances in such a poor state there seems little appetite to help the industry with any form of tax relief."