Spending Review 2015 – 3% increase on Stamp Duty for BTL and second homes

Spending Review 2015 – 3% increase on Stamp Duty for BTL and second homes

14:30 PM, 25th November 2015, About 9 years ago 224

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GeorgeThe Chancellor George Osborne in his spending review today announced that he will increase Stamp duty for Buy to Let properties and second homes with a surcharge of 3% from April 2016.

The Chancellor said he wanted to change from generation rent to generation buy. He was concerned that Cash Purchasers and foreign investors, who were not affected by the relief cap of 20% on  mortgage interest, along with Buy to Let investors were squeezing out home buyers. Therefore there will be an increase of 3% in stamp duty for non-main residence purchasers, which would also raise an additional £1bn in tax.

The Housing budget will now be doubled to £2bn per annum and a project to build 400,000 new affordable homes to buy will be started. Osborne said “this government chooses to build.”

These affordable homes will be offered to First Time Buyers at a discount of 20%, and 135,000 new homes will be offered under Help to Buy shared ownership.

A London Help to Buy scheme will offer interest-free loans up to a maximum of 40% of the value of a newly built home.

Restrictions on shared ownership will be removed and the planning system reformed to deliver more homes.

Councils will also receive an additional £10m to help homeless people.

It is the Chancellors clear policy to help solve the housing crises by building more homes and squeezing the competitiveness of the Private Rental Sector thus shifting the balance from renting to home ownership.

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Commercial property investors, with more than 15 properties, are expected to be exempt from the new charges.


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Comments

AnthonyJames

17:15 PM, 27th November 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Claudio Valentini" at "27/11/2015 - 15:00":

Yes, limited companies and SPVs for property *investment* will be caught by this new tax, if they own fewer than 15 rental properties.

However I can't say for sure, because the small print is still evolving, and the 15 property limit is apparently only what will be proposed for a future consultation exercise

AnthonyJames

17:19 PM, 27th November 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Alison King" at "27/11/2015 - 17:00":

Alison, what makes you think that development companies don't pay SDLT? I'm a developer and I've always paid it - it's a general tax on land and property for everyone, not a tax only paid by individuals.

At present I think developers and builders and private individuals who buy a property to renovate or redevelop are going to be caught by this extra 3% tax, as well as individual landlords and investment companies. There's nothing in the small print yet that exempts trading companies from the tax.

Alison King

18:18 PM, 27th November 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Tony Atkins" at "27/11/2015 - 17:19":

OK I must have misunderstood. Thanks for the correction.

money manager

18:24 PM, 27th November 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jakub " at "27/11/2015 - 12:31":

correct.

Alison King

18:35 PM, 27th November 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Tony Atkins" at "27/11/2015 - 17:19":

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think where the trading companies might be in a better position than rental companies is that they can claim the SDLT back off CGT as soon as they sell. Landlords are more likely to have to wait a lot longer before they can do that.

denis knockton

19:38 PM, 27th November 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Bartley Hilliam" at "27/11/2015 - 17:13":

Bartley,

The Treasury has not released the exact details but early word is that relief may apply to those who have already exchanged contracts before midnight 25th November 2015, but not completing till after April 2016. As you have not yet exchanged however, this may not apply to you. It's not fair, I know.

Tracey Hoad

20:53 PM, 27th November 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "KATHY MILLER" at "27/11/2015 - 09:31":

I don't think individual landlords got together as much as we should have. I spent many evenings and weekends emailing estate agents and property websites with a link to the petition we started in order to attempt to get the government to change some of the tax proposals in the Summer budget. We got an absolutly abysmal response from the landlord community. A lot of people I spoke to thought the proposals would never be agreed. But here we are now!

money manager

6:12 AM, 28th November 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Chris Brown" at "27/11/2015 - 17:14":

Institutional "buyers" most certainly will do as you suggest. On the day that the Finance Bill was announced Chesertons sent me an email telling of a US "landlord" with some 50000 units is to finance, build, rent, and manage it's first UK development of I think 200+flats. How much tax does GO think he's going to make outof that. Well, he might end up paying quite a bit from his post office directorships.

MoodyMolls

9:21 AM, 28th November 2015, About 9 years ago

HUB Residential
An admission that the Chancellor “can’t get the housing market under control” is how HUB Residential views George Osborne’s promise to deliver 400,000 new affordable homes.

The £7bn invest ignores the fundamental issue of a lack of affordability across the entire housing market, warns Steve Sanham, development director at HUB Residential: “The problem hasn’t been a lack of ‘affordable housing’, rather a lack of affordability in general. Investment in infrastructure to bring new areas on line for development, and freeing up the bureaucracy of the planning system, are the only ways to bring ‘market homes’ within the reach of first time buyers. New headline grabbing affordable housing initiatives smack of more short-termism, and an inability or unwillingness of the government to grasp the big issues.”

Manchester Landlord

9:47 AM, 28th November 2015, About 9 years ago

I have a very powerful idea which may persuade George Osbourne to change tack.

In a few years Conservative party members will have the opportunity to vote for the next conservative leader in the run up to the election. As a collective of tens of thousands of landlords we could threaten to become members and vote for his opposition. Call it bribery or blackmail or whatever you like, but this will make him listen very carefully.

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