Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering extending the SDLT holiday by six weeks to prevent homebuyers getting caught in a “completion trap”.
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.”
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.”
