Stamp duty relaxed for first-time buyers
Stamp duty relaxed for first-time buyers
Thursday 25th March 2010
Stamp duty on house purchases under £25,000 has been suspended for two years for first-time buyers, the chancellor Alistair Darling announced in his Budget on Wednesday.The welcome move has followed months of lobbying by those in the property industry to increase the threshold to help first-time buyers (FTBs) get on the first rung of the beleaguered UK housing ladder.
In his Budget to "secure the recovery", Mr Darling said: "The housing market is now stabilised and has begun a slow recovery.
"I can announce that I will double the stamp duty threshold from midnight tonight [Wednesday]".
Commenting on the announcement, David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, said: "Removal of stamp-duty tax for first-time buyers is positive news for the housing market, but the unsung cornerstone – the private rental sector - has once again been overlooked.
"Property investors have been supporting thousands of wannabe first-time buyers who have been unable to afford to buy. With the supply of affordable housing unlikely to meet the rising demand, and the provision of social housing woefully inadequate, rented accommodation will become even more vital to the UK housing market.
"The vast majority of properties to let would fall under the £250,000 threshold. Extending this stamp-duty tax-break to landlords too would encourage further expansion of the private rental sector to meet the UK's growing housing needs."
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday it estimates if the £250,000 starting threshold for stamp duty land tax had existed, around 92 per cent of FTBs and 69 per cent of home movers in 2009 would have been exempt from paying.
Mr Darling revealed in his Budget funding for the stamp duty holiday would be funded by an increase in duty on homes worth over £1 million, rising from four to five per cent.
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