Rishi Sunak considering 6 week extension to Stamp Duty holiday?
The Daily Telegraph has reported that the Chancellor is under pressure to avoid the Stamp Duty cliff edge on the 31st of March and is considering a 6 weeks extension to the 12th May to allow completion to take place delayed by conveyancing backlogs.
A source told the paper: “It is certainly the case that a lot of people would be caught in the completion trap if the holiday were to end when it is due to.”
Knight Frank’s, Tom Bill, said: “The initial wave of activity since the market reopened last May is working its way through the system, but a third national lockdown and the closing window of the stamp duty holiday is magnifying that effect.
“Home-schooling means selling a property has taken a back-seat for many people and the ticking clock of a stamp duty holiday will have deterred others in the belief they won’t make the deadline.”
However, not everyone thinks the end of the holiday will be disastrous with the CEO of GetAgent, Colby Short, saying: “There seems to be this overarching opinion that the world will stop turning once the current Stamp Duty holiday expires and this is quite frankly ridiculous.
“The idea that the 31st March will act as a property market Armageddon, at which point all existing and future transactions will cease to exist, is just bonkers.”
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Comments: 297 - Articles: 1
10:05 AM, 15th February 2021, About 5 years ago
I’m nervous about an increase in CGT in the Budget. I agreed a sale in November, with the aim of completion by Christmas and we still haven’t even exchanged contracts, let alone completed. Solicitors utterly unresponsive, of course.
Member Since September 2019 - Comments: 251
10:15 AM, 15th February 2021, About 5 years ago
Are they not just kicking the can down the road by 6 weeks so that we can have this argument all over again in a few weeks time. All the same arguments will apply then as they do now.
Member Since November 2020 - Comments: 88
8:00 PM, 15th February 2021, About 5 years ago
The logical answer is – any property that has a sale agreed in this period should qualify for this SDLT relief. We all know even in good times, solicitors procrastinate so much that what should take a few weeks takes them months, even if all paperwork is in order. A mad scramble to complete does not help anyone and many sales will fall through at the last minute if asked to stump up several thousand pounds extra for SDLT after the deadline.