Government being extensively lobbied to extend Stamp Duty Holiday

The Government is being lobbied from all quarters of the property industry from Conveyancing, Surveying, Agent and Landlord groups to extend the Stamp Duty holiday and help unplug the logjam of housing transactions that are trying to complete before the holiday at the end of March ends.

A letter was sent to the Government with the backing of several industries bodies and major players in the industry citing the reasons why the extension would benefit the industry, the economy and most importantly people in the process of purchasing a property.

“In a bid to up the ante, The Guild has provided its Members with another letter that they can address to their local MPs in a bid to drum up further support of the initiative of extending the tax break,” says Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals.  “We are hoping to use our influence as a large network to help persuade the Government to push back the deadline date because of the high number of transactions currently in the pipeline that won’t make the cut off due to delays. Consumers should not be penalised for the delays currently experienced in the property buying process that they have no control over.”

He continues that while the letter has been sent to Guild Member agents, it is also available to all agents if they wish. “We are encouraging all agents to either use the letter we have drafted or to draft their own letter to their local MP in support of the extension of the holiday. If the sector works together in support of a common goal, there is far more chance that the Government will act, and act quickly, which is what is needed,” says McKenzie.

He adds that property sector and related services are not equipped to be able to process the vast volumes of transactions before the cut off and many consumers run the risk of missing out on the tax break. “If the deadline remains as it is, only a quarter of the sales agreed in January will complete in time. According to Zoopla there are approximately 140,000 more people waiting to complete sales than this time last year, so there will be a significant number of buyers who will have to find additional money for Stamp Duty if they have not budgeted for it,” says McKenzie.

“If buyers are unable to complete as a result of not having the Stamp Duty money in place, we will see a large number of transactions fall through as a result.”

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