Landlords rush to beat tax hike

Landlords are racing to exchange contracts on property purchases to avoid a sudden increase in stamp duty, which has risen by 2 percentage points to 5%. According to analysis by Savills, a landlord buying a property worth £500,000 will incur an additional £10,000 in tax, while a £1m home will see an extra £20,000. Rachel Reeves stated: "This is expected to result in 130,000 additional transactions over the next five years by first-time buyers." However, critics warn that this could lead to a significant reduction in rental properties, with a Capital Economics report predicting that 540,000 properties could vanish from the rental market within a decade. Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, remarked: "This will not help the many tenants for whom home ownership is a distant dream." The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates the tax increase will generate only £400m by 2029-30, while overall stamp duty is projected to raise £14.1bn in 2024-25. 

The Times