How will stamp duty changes impact your home purchase?

Many hoped it would allay fears about the economy and cost of living crisis, but Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s recent ‘mini-budget’ announcement had the opposite effect.

Now, with the pound hitting historic lows and interest rates expected to rise rapidly so that many mortgage products – particularly fixed-rate – have been withdrawn, one glimmer of good news is the changes to stamp duty land tax (SDLT).

Under new rules, the threshold at which buyers must start paying the tax has risen from £125k to £250k and for first-time buyers the limit has gone up from £300k to £425k.

According to Right Move this means a third of all homes currently for sale in England are now exempt from paying any SDLT at all.

What do stamp duty changes mean for me?

As the chancellor’s change is a permanent one, we don’t expect to see the same levels of activity that followed the announcement of a temporary stamp duty holiday in 2020 and saw conveyancers stretched to capacity.

But those who are in the process of moving or about to start should be realistic about the length of time it may take.

Every case is different and depends on the particular quirks of that property, but even a straightforward sale at the moment is taking in excess of three months.

The average time taken to complete a house purchase has increased by 23% since 2019 – from 124 to 153 days – according to Smoove’s Home Movers Report. It puts delays down to the post-pandemic boom which has led to a backlog including local authority searches taking longer to come back.

Whatever the reason, any conveyancer promising to get you in by Christmas may find themselves struggling to deliver.

How can I speed things up during the home buying process?

It is your conveyancer’s job to spot any issues which may affect your decision to buy, such as a boundary dispute, restrictions to what you can do to the property or discovering it is in a flood risk area.

Such investigations can’t be completed overnight and should never be rushed, but they are worth the wait to save you problems further down the line.

Likewise, while much is being done to digitise and in doing so streamline the legal side of buying a house, there are still many essential checks that need to be carried out in order to make sure the transfer of ownership is watertight.

What you can do is get organised.

There’s no reason not to research and select a conveyancer before you’ve decided on a property. It’s crucial to make sure they are regulated, however, so you are able to seek redress in the event something goes wrong.

There is an enviable amount of choice now available when it comes to finding the right conveyancer for you.

For example, the majority of firms no longer require you to physically visit their office and can deal with matters remotely, some even via portals that you can log into 24/7 to check the progress of your case in real time.

There is also now a requirement on all licensed conveyancers to publish clear information about service and price on their websites.

It can also save valuable time if you can collect all the relevant paperwork your conveyancer may need in order to progress your case.

For buyers this is likely to include documents to confirm your identity such as your passport, payslips, bank statements and household bills as well as details of your mortgage or mortgage in principle.

For the latter, be mindful that this may have changed following the mini-budget announcement.

Sellers should collate any information they have relating to the property they’re putting on the market including the deeds, mortgage details and documentation of any work carried out.

You can find a list of CLC-regulated conveyancers as well as guides to buying and selling a property on our website here.

Firms that are regulated by us should also have our secure badge displayed prominently on their website linking back to the website of the CLC.

Stephen Ward is director of strategy and external relations at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers