Stamp Duty - this can’t be fair

Mildredmoo

My daughter has shared ownership flat in London and is trapped and unable to sell due to fire safety defects and no EWS1 certificate. She’s been fighting this for years with metropolitan Thames Valley Housing. She is a single woman and the stress this has caused has been immeasurable. For her mental health she moved back home after being finally allowed to sublet her flat. Now she is in the process of buying a small house elsewhere. She has worked so hard and saved diligently. Now she finds she must pay extra stamp duty as she is purchasing a second home. This is substantial. She first want a second home. It’s not N investment. It’s for her mental health and wellbeing. They say she can claim back if she sells within three years but it’s unlikely the works will be completed by then. This cannot be fair. There should be allowances for these innocent victims trapped in an unsellable property due to no fault of their own.

Isthisforreal99

Taxation often isn't 'fair' and everyone will argue they should be the exception but only way it can be changed is through Parliament. Canvass your MP

Mildredmoo

Thank you. We have the MP doing her best.
when my daughter is trapped in an unsellable flat due to shoddy workmanship in the first place and her mental health has suffered so greatly I’d still say it’s not fair! She doesn’t want a second home. She wants to be rid of her flat.

lincroft1710

It may not be "fair", but it is lawful and being lawful is what matters, Unless the law is amended, there is nothing that can be done. If there were any amendments to the law, they must be carefully worded so that loopholes are not created. Sometimes laws can be quickly amended, sometimes it is a slow process or the proposed amendment fails to get Parliamentary support and fails, especially where only a small minority are affected.

saajan_12

Agree there will be people at the edge of any rule, but there has to be a line somewhere. If unsellable due to EWS1 became an official exception then people with an unfavourable survey or with buyers who pulled out will think its unfair they're 'just' caught out by the 3 year rule.

However this doesn't have to be a mental health issue, she could rent a house in the same area / size she's looking to buy. That way she has her own space, not living in the flat and no major urgency around the EWS1.