Many of you will be pouring over George Osbourne’s budget speech today and working out how the proposals affect you.
Residential landlord’s have received an unexpected boost after lobbying from the National Landlords Association (http://www.landlords.org.uk) appears to have paid off. A reform of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) has been proposed.
The historic position is that, subject to reliefs and property values, a residential landlord has had to pay SDLT on each transaction according to the value of the purchase. The Chancellor’s proposal is for a landlord purchasing a portfolio of properties to be chargeed SDLT at a rate assessed in accordance with the average value of his or her portfolio (subject to a floor of 1% SDLT) rather than the total purchase price. This could mean significant savings as lower SDLT thresholds may come into play.
The move is designed to breath some life into the residential property market which is continued low transaction volumes impacting upon prices across the country. The second impact could be a stabalising of residential rents or a decrease as more rental properties may come to the market.
SDLT avoidance schemes were, however, on the Chancellor’s hit list. Some commentators had been advocating a complete reform of the system but the proposals fall a long way short of this.
Leasehold Lawyer 