Property industry leaders want the Chancellor to extend the stamp duty holiday by a further six months till November 2021, as there is insufficient capacity to be able to fulfill the excessive number of house sales completing before the cut off date of March 31st.

pixabay.com

Fourteen property industry organisations representing agents, intermediaries, lenders, conveyances and property portals, have signed a joint open letter to the Chancellor asking him to extend the deadline by a further six months.

The group said that urgent action is needed as properties are still being actively marketed in the belief that buyers will be able to take advantage of the considerable stamp duty savings, although ‘in reality they may be too late’.

The group is adamant that if the Government acts quickly it could ease the considerable pressure on the system for transactions to be completed and ‘avoid a disorderly and distressing period for movers and businesses throughout the market’, said the group. ‘Any extension or gradual phasing of the Stamp Duty Land Tax would also help mitigate sharp reductions in consumer demand’.

The chief executive of one of the industry organisations, Mark Hayward, said that the open letter was “an important step in protecting those in the process of buying or selling a house that might miss out on the 31 March stamp duty deadline.

“Increased pressure on service providers within the industry were causing delays for buyers and sellers.

He continued: “The boom, caused by the stamp duty holiday, has been hugely beneficial for the housing market.

“However, the stamp duty cliff edge on the 31 March could cause thousands of sales to fall at the final hurdle and have a knock on and drastic effect on the housing market which has recovered well from the Covid slump.