Industry figures urge extension to stamp duty holiday

January 18, 2021 by Brendan O'Neill

Property Market

A number of prominent figures from within the property industry are calling on the government to extend the current period where the stamp duty threshold is set higher, in the wake of the decision to go into lockdown in England again.

While the property sector is not being forced to close again as it was during the first national lockdown last spring, people within the industry are arguing that this new lockdown will still have a serious effect on the market. Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) Executive Director, Kate Davies, stated that the mortgage industry in particular was now under huge pressure to complete loan applications ahead of the threshold returning to its normal level on 1st April.

The IMLA told the Treasury during December that there was already a risk of many borrowers not managing to get transactions over the line before the holiday on stamp duty comes to an end, with this now being exacerbated by lockdown.

Speaking to FT Adviser, Davies went on to say that:

“There have been many calls on the government to consider some form of extension or tapering of the stamp duty holiday, giving buyers the breathing space they need to complete their house purchase before the deadline.”

Davies concluded by urging the government to pay heed to these calls, so that the mortgage loan system has time to deal with all of the applications.

This certainly makes sense from an economic perspective, although the continued popularity of CeMAP training courses means more people are entering the industry than ever to deal with demand.