Calls for landlords to pay more Stamp Duty

Published: 07/06/2013

Lobbying Group, the HomeOwners Alliance, is calling for landlords and property developers to pay more Stamp Duty than those buying a property for their own occupation.

In a controversial report called ‘Stamping on Aspirations: The Real Cost of Stamp Duty’ the group discusses the impact Stamp Duty is having on struggling first time buyers and homemovers, revealing the considerable increase in Stamp Duty since 1995.

Stamp Duty has risen:

• 7.1 times faster than inflation
• 6.5 times faster than the average income
• 4.6 times faster than house prices.

With Stamp Duty now the equivalent of 11 weeks’ of average earnings, the group strongly believe it is one of the primary factors in declining property sales. In order to address the issue, the group believes people who buy additional property - namely landlords but even those who buy a holiday home – should face a larger Stamp Duty liability.

Paula Higgins is the Founder of the HomeOwners Alliance:

“It is very unfair that ordinary people pay the same tax to buy the roof over their head as investors do when expanding their property empire, or when people buy holiday homes they use only a few weeks of the year.”

Currently anyone who buys a property valued at over £125,000 must pay Stamp Duty, the cost of which is calculated by the property purchase price. To see how much you may need to pay, check out our latest infographic - Stamp Duty Explained.

Content correct at time of publication