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Originally published in Today's Conveyancer.
Calls for reform or abolition of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) and for tax policies to be “stabilised” have been among the hopes voiced by property experts ahead of the Autumn Budget on Wednesday. Speaking to Today’s Conveyancer, commentators added progress on home buying and selling reforms and more clarity on the Your First Home Scheme would be welcome.
Longing for stimulation in the market, Sarah Sams, partner and head of residential conveyancing at Dutton Gregory LLP, spoke of anticipations for further announcements on the Your First Home Scheme, proposed by the government to enable first time buyers to access an equity loan worth 20%, while laying down a minimum deposit of 2.5% for a property.
“Like it or loath it, it’s predecessor, Help to Buy, definitely had this effect,” Sams said. “A smaller deposit this time round will help many people buy their first home and encourage people on to the property ladder.”
Also anticipating further announcements on the scheme, Sarah Barnes, head of residential conveyancing at Napthens, said it will be a “much-needed boost” to the newbuild housing sector, however income limits, price caps and lender involvement will “dictate the success of the scheme”, she notes.
Barnes urged the proposal of a 2.5% deposit must be exercised with caution, with a risk of seeing homeowners in negative equity if not managed correctly.
“The stimulation to the new build sector involving the scheme above is welcomed generally, but it may have an impact on existing property stock, in that the former is favoured over the latter,” Barnes said.
She added: “The key focus is whether the Budget is able to inspire confidence in the financial markets generally.
“The housing market is extremely sensitive to fluctuations within the financial markets and if confidence weakens, and inflation increases, then this will naturally have an impact on borrowing costs – which have a wider impact on transaction volumes generally.
“We are currently seeing a very cautious market, with buyers and sellers only moving if they have to. I don’t see this changing significantly, as home movers are impacted by higher mortgage rates, which I predict will increase over the coming months.”
Further emphasising the importance of instilling confidence in the property market, David Jabbari, CEO of Nova Conveyancing, said the only solution is to put the home buying and selling reforms into action.
Voicing concerns that housing risks being treated as an “afterthought” in the coming Budget, Jabbari said: “That’s a mistake. The number that should worry the Treasury isn’t a tax rate, it’s this: just 5% of homes sold this year had been owned for under three years, the lowest share on record, down from 15% in 2006.
“People have simply stopped moving.
“Stamp duty and council tax reform are both off the table, so tinkering with tax isn’t the fix anyway.
“What actually moves this market is confidence, and right now enough buyers are waiting to see what happens that the waiting itself has become part of the problem.
“The only way to instil confidence in this market is by showing buyers and sellers that the reform most of us welcomed is actually being finished, not just announced.
“The consultation on this had strong support, most people backed mandatory upfront property information and the move to binding contracts, so the government already has the mandate to act. It just needs to do so now.”
Raising a concern ahead of the Budget next week, Jeremy Dorkins, director at On Point Data Ltd, commented on the rumoured proposal of additional taxation on higher-value properties, “particularly if the threshold is set at £1.5 million rather than £2 million”.
He said: “This would disproportionately affect London and the Southeast, where higher property values would bring more homeowners within scope.
“Further increases in tax on property income would also be a concern. With changes already expected from April 2027, additional measures could discourage investment and lead some landlords to reconsider whether remaining in the market is financially viable.”
What would make a positive difference to the property market, Dorkins revealed, would be the abolishment of stamp duty, alongside support to first-time buyers in helping raise deposits and measures that make downsizing “more attractive and practical”.
Backing the push to scrap stamp duty, Ben Rich, CEO of Radix Big Tent, referred to the notion as a “radical yet sensible policy shift to solve the housing crisis”.
He said: “Stamp duty is clogging up the market and proving a barrier to people moving in later life to more suitable homes – removing it could save the NHS money, provide new housing for families and more comfortable later-life accommodation for those rightsizing.”
Lisa Wilson, partner at Spencer West LLP hopes for stamp duty reforms instead to be announced in the Budget, she told, in the form of reduced rates for additional properties, something that will “help restore liquidity” in the property market.
“This would bring new investors to the market who are entering with 2026 laws and taxation already in place, rather than having to adjust existing plans retrospectively,” she explained.
“In any market, buying property should be viewed as a long-term investment to weather inevitable political storms.”
Looking more broadly at the legal sector, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, Brett Dixon, called on the government to focus on creating the right conditions for future growth.
“The legal industry is an engine of growth that, with the right steps from the UK government, can unleash its full horsepower,” Dixon said. “It is an export powerhouse that contributes £60 billion a year to the UK economy, employing more than half a million people. More than half of private practice solicitors work outside London, making legal services a key employer in towns and cities across England and Wales.”
Referring directly to court delays, crumbling infrastructure and the need to increase legal aid, Dixon called for “sustained investment in legal aid, courts and legal technology”.
With the outcome of the Ministry of Justice’s Interest on Client Accounts (ILCA) scheme still to be decided, the president called for clarity and “appropriate regulation” to deliver growth “in every postcode.”