SDLT deadline gives rise for concern
There was great disappointment across the property industry last month when Chancellor Rishi Sunak stopped short of extending the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), despite growing calls from the industry to extend it or at least taper it off. Due to the backlog of work from the first lockdown and subsequent boom, the average property transaction is taking 20 weeks to complete, up from 12 weeks on average. Conveyancers are concerned some transactions may not complete before the 31st March deadline, leaving thousands of homeowners with an unexpected SDLT bill and in further debt. Today’s Conveyancer goes on to report that nearly two million homebuyers have already had to arrange additional finance to cover the extra costs of SDLT. HMRC figures indicate around 105,630 transactions in October made it the busiest of Octobers in the last ten years and up by almost 10% on September transactions.