Legal firms comment on the end of the stamp duty holiday

A number of legal firms have commented on today (30 June) marking the end of Stamp Duty holiday in its current form at least.

Tom Allfree, Head of Residential Property at Wedlake Bell, comments:

“It has been a busy few months for the property market, as purchasers look to take advantage of the extended SDLT holiday. To benefit from the majority of the advantage, purchasers must substantially perform contracts (normally by completing the transaction) by the end of June.  Those that do so can save up to £15,000 in SDLT.

“Those missing the deadline should not despair; the SDLT holiday (albeit in reduced form) does not expire completely until the end of September, and a saving of up to £2,500 may still be available.

“It is important to remember that whilst the end of June SDLT saving is significant, it pales into near insignificance when viewed against the overall costs of buying a new home.  Perhaps some buyers have paid more than they might otherwise have in order to beat the SDLT deadline.  Hopefully any such over payment will not be greater than the SDLT saving they were chasing.”

Hema Anand, Partner and Head of Residential Property at BDB Pitmans, comments:

“The impact of the extended stamp duty holiday has been tremendous. This is clear from the significant increase in instructions across the country and relating to all values. There has been an unprecedented number of completions in June.

“It is the kick start the residential property market required to address pent up demand, which has been sluggish for several years. Let’s see if the momentum continues with the lesser stamp duty saving.”

Lucy Barber, Partner and Head of Residential Property at Forsters, says:

“The first stage of the end of the SDLT holiday that was announced by the government last year has now come to the end which means that the majority of the SDLT saving that was provided by this holiday is no longer available.  There is still a small saving that can be achieved until the end of September but it is unlikely to have as much impact on the market as has been the case to date.”

“The SDLT holiday has spurred on the market and deals which would have previously taken many months have been rushed through by solicitors and banks working overtime to try to help as many people as possible achieve the SDLT saving.  There have been many buyers who have been lucky enough to complete on or before 30 June 2021 but there is little that buyers can do if they have missed the deadline except to try to renegotiate the purchase price with the seller.  Until the end of September there is at least a small saving that can still be achieved.”

Main photo courtesy of Pixabay