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The Law Society, while recognising the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) holiday as an important support and stimulus for the residential conveyancing market during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, has called for action to ameliorate the effect of the abrupt end to the holiday on 31 March 2021.
The Law Society has shared that the SDLT holiday announcement in July has helped to increase the overall volume of transactions, which are expected to end the year higher than last year despite the lockdown.
However, this surge in demand, together with operational constraints as a result of COVID-19, has lengthened the average property transaction time. This poses significant risks for consumers as well as businesses in the market as the current relatively short holiday window ends abruptly based on completion dates.
The Law Society is of the opinion that the government needs to take urgent action as soon as possible to ameliorate the 31 March deadline or provide an extension to the deadline, or introduce appropriate transitional arrangements that would help release the growing pressure on the conveyancing system, including that on solicitors.
Mark Watson, Partner and Head of Glanvilles Property Services.
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute, legal advice, and should not be relied upon as advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article. All content was correct at the time of publishing. Legal advice should always be sought in relation to specific circumstances.