Rishi Sunak considering six week SDLT extension

Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) is considering extending the stamp duty holiday deadline by six weeks.

Sunak is debating a limited extension through to mid-May in order to prevent homebuyers getting caught in a “completion trap”.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Sunak said: “A lot of people would be caught in the completion trap if the holiday were to end when it is due to.”

Around 100,000 homebuyers set to miss out on stamp duty holiday

Miles Robinson, head of mortgages at Trussle, said: “The news that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, is considering a six-week extension to the stamp duty holiday offers a glimmer of hope to buyers racing to beat the current deadline of 31 March.”

As a result of the holiday, Trussle outlined that it has seen a 63% increase in mortgage applications in December and a 15% increase in January year-on-year.

Robinson said: “However, the surge in demand has triggered long delays in the processing of transactions.

“It currently takes 134 days to complete on a property in the UK and it’s been reported that one in five buyers are facing more than a six-month wait for completion.”

Therefore, Robinson believes that a potential six-week extension could prove invaluable to the estimated 100,000 property purchases currently underway.

He added: “As the wider economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, we’d urge the government to consider granting a longer extension or adopting a tapered approach to ending the stamp duty holiday.”