The Government is starting to show signs of recognizing that the property market has a major role to play in the recovery of the UK economy. This week we heard news that they are considering granting institutional investors a stamp duty concession in an attempt to lure them into being professional landlords.
This is clearly an attempt to revitalise the property market and is something to be applauded. Furthermore, the decision to try for this particular change came after discussion with property advisors so it is great to see the Government talking to those who really know how this sector works.
The way the proposed changes will work is that instead of the stamp duty being calculated based on bulk buying, it would be bought down to a singular stamp duty fee for each property. In other words, to simplify things, the landlord who buys properties in bulk would be paying the same amount of stamp duty as everyone else. There’s a thought!
This could be an excellent opportunity for landlords who are looking to rapidly expand their portfolio and to do so without attracting ridiculous amounts of stamp duty like they have in the past.
