Stamp Duty holiday

uralmaid

According to todays papers industry experts have written to Rishi Sunak asking for an extension to the holiday period or at the very least confirming that anyone who is currently going through the process of buying and selling will still be able to be able to complete without paying stamp duty if they  commenced during the break period.Cross your fingers everyone

SDLT_Geek

I attach the letter of 29 October 2020 asking for an extension to the SDLT holiday.

Emmajhowe90

Surely it’s crazy if they cut it dead on 31 March. Solicitors are not accepting new people, mortgage applications are taking forever, houses are taking 5 months to complete on average instead of 3. 

The housing market will fall off a cliff without some kind of extension or guarantee that those in the process won’t be penalised. Surely otherwise chains will collapse everywhere as people have to suddenly factor in an extra £15k! At least someone somewhere in the chain won’t be able to afford the extra hit on stamp duty (we certainly wouldn’t) and the whole sale will break down. 

I just can’t fathom how the government haven’t announced anything on this yet. Does anyone think they are just waiting until the last minute to do so? Or will they really be able to set a hard deadline?

jonners666

I think they will do as suggested in the OP- anyone in the process (ie with a memo of sale) will proceed without SDLT.

I hope so anyway! 

davidmcn

jonners666 said:

I think they will do as suggested in the OP- anyone in the process (ie with a memo of sale) will proceed without SDLT.

I hope so anyway! 

Seems unlikely given that "in the process" is rather nebulous legally. It's not a criterion previously used for any other stamp duty rate changes or concessions.

jonners666

Well no but this is an unprecedented situation. Personally I'd like to see them declare the current situation as the new threshold for SDLT going forward, but that's unlikely. 

If they stick to the cliff-edge, it's going to be a disaster, with people dropping offers and pulling out as they can't afford the £10k+ extra 

macman

As above, 'going through the process' is not definable. You could instruct an LA to market the property today and not sell it for years? You could have accepted an offer that is then withdrawn? The line has to be drawn somewhere, and some people will lose out.

SDLT_Geek

HMRC at an online meeting today with stakeholders to do with stamp duty land tax said that the Government does not plan to extend the position beyond 31 March 2021, but all tax policy is kept under review.

numbercruncher8

The thing is, if it was extended, wouldn't the same problems happen whenever the next deadline comes up?

Personally I think it's more the boy crying wolf that the market will collapse if the concession is removed. Remember all the bad things that were meant to happen in the event of Brexit?

Of course some transactions may fall through, but the stamp duty on the average house price is hardly a huge figure.

The South East is a potential issue because prices have gone up. But overall prices have been stable at best since 2016 for many places in London. I don't really recall any news stories about people struggling to pay this charge in previous years..... and of course, those people buying before then should have some equity gains to pay it with.

K_S

It boils down to a political decision, and if I was forced to guess/predict I would think that the deadline will be extended in some form. Plaudits for "supporting homebuyers" and the cost will just add a tiny bit to all that's being spent on battling the covid downturn. Just my 2c.

katie91_2

I hope so! As someone who offered on a house mid-August thinking it would be completed by March, but looking less and less likely due to issues with the chain, it would make our lives a bit easier. We can afford to pay it if we need to, but there’s definitely other things I’d rather spend my £15k on!