Stamp Duty Deadline
As the deadline happening on April 1st draws close, what effect will that have on the property market as the threshold on stamp duty-free homes changes? On 1st April, first-time-buyers will no longer enjoy exemption on properties up to £425,000 and existing home-owners will pay on properties from £125,000 upwards.
As it stands, one third of properties in England could be SDLT-free for existing property owners, but this will drop to 10%. For first-time-buyers currently 64% could be Stamp-Duty exempt, but that will drop to only 44% of available properties on April 1st. This will force first-time-buyers having to save even more before they can get on the ladder, meaning we’re likely to see a high surge in demand for these properties that remain under the threshold, and a short time rise in purchasers trying to get in before the changes come into affect.
Legal Changes
Changes in section 21 will curtail landlords’ ability to evict tenants, scrapping ‘no fault evictions’ entirely. They will now have to provide tenants with longer notice periods, additionally landlords will soon be required to upgrade their properties to an EPC rating of C.
However, there was no raise in CGT, something the PRS had predicted would happen in the recent budget. On the positive side, rents have continued to rise across the country, often only counteracting the rise in interest rates. ‘The ongoing imbalance between supply and demand is putting pressure on prices.’ (Tim Bannister, Rightmove).
All of these external pressures will mean landlords will have to manage their portfolios and subsequent investments, very carefully. Remaining profitable at this time becomes increasing difficult for many landlords. However, even after the talk of a ‘landlord exodus’ doesn’t seem to have played out as of yet, with many holding their nerve in the face of challenging conditions.
Recent Comments