Yesterday afternoon, 1st February 2021, MPs discussed the extension of the SDLT holiday which is due to end on 31st March 2021. The discussion was prompted after a petition reached the required 100,000 votes for it to be tabled before MPs.
Many viewpoints were put forward but they boiled down to three main suggestions;
• Keep the deadline where it is for all completions,
• Extend the deadline for a further 6 months,
• Keep the deadline for new purchases, but extend it for those currently going through.
There are pros and cons for all and the Government has not decided which way they will go but it seems unlikely that the deadline will receive a blanket extension as we will be having the exact same debate in 6 months.
If research data is to be believed, over half of purchases currently in progress are dependent on completion before the end of March. Failure to complete by 31st March will, according to this research, result in buyers pulling out. The knock on effect could be dramatic to the housing market and wider industry, not to mention the effect on people's lives.
The Budget is set for 3rd March so it will be interesting to see if the Chancellor makes any changes to the SDLT holiday.
If you have any SDLT questions or want to know if the end of the holiday will affect your purchase, please contact Gepp's Private Client department on 01245 228125 or PrivateClientEnq@gepp.co.uk.
This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.
