New: Law Society calls for review of end of SDLT holiday to prevent sales collapsing
The Law Society has made a press release that calls for urgent action to prevent the end of the temporary increase in the residential SDLT nil-rate band. This is due to end on 31 March 2021, resulting in possibly, thousands of aborted sales.
The Law Society is urging people to write to their MP to call for action. It has also suggested three possible options for the government to address the problem:
- Extend the temporary increase in the SDLT nil-rate band, thereby providing more time for buyers to complete transactions.
- Implement a tapered transition so that, during an interim period, the SDLT saving reduces.
- Introduce a grandfathering scheme so that the temporary increase in the nil-rate band applies to transactions that have already progressed significantly (but are not completed) by 31 March 2021.
On 12 February 2021, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Jesse Norman, stated that the government does not plan on extending the temporary increase.
Sources: Law Society: Swift stamp duty action needed to prevent dream home moves collapsing, Law Society Gazette: Sunak urged to act ahead of March stamp duty cliff-edge and UK Parliament: Stamp Duties: First Time Buyers.
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This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.
