Stamp Duty “Transfer Deadline”

Desperate landlords keen to beat the deadline for April's new stamp duty rates has seen business soar for the city's largest law firm.

From Friday, April 1 the stamp duty paid on the average price of a Coventry property will more than double for landlords or second home owners overnight.

According to property website Zoopla the average price of a home in Coventry currently stands at £178,832, which under the new rules, will see stamp duty soar from £1,076 to £2,691.

Over the last three months, the number of conveyancing cases being dealt with at leading law firm Band Hatton Button have increased by 46 per cent versus the same period last year.

The rise has been put down to an increasing number of people looking to complete the purchase of buy-to-let or second home properties before the new rules come into effect.

The changes were announced in the 2015 Autumn statement confirming that from the beginning of April this year, property buyers in England and Wales will have to pay an additional three per cent stamp duty on top of the standard stamp duty rate when purchasing a buy-to-let or second home property.

The rules mean that buyers will need to pay three per cent stamp duty for properties up to £125,000, five per cent for between £125,000 and £250,000, eight per cent for between £250,000 and £925,000, thirteen per cent between £925,000 and £1.5 million, and 15 per cent for properties over £1.5 million.

First time buyers and people looking to buy and sell one property are unaffected by this change.

Sarah Avern, Head of Residential Conveyancing at Band Hatton Button, said: "The savings to be had from beating the new stamp duty deadline run into thousands of pounds, so a lot of people are anxiously trying to beat the deadline.

"We have 11 people in our Residential Property Team who have been working around the clock to get people's deals over the line - it has a transfer deadline day feel to it.

"The interest we've had from landlords sets us up nicely for another busy Spring and Summer when the majority of house sales take place.

"Coventry has two universities and that often means a higher level of buy-to-let landlords, so Coventry is probably noticing this more than most."

Band Hatton Button offers a wide range of legal services to businesses and individuals. Specialist areas include corporate and commercial, commercial property, litigation, employment, residential property, personal injury and wills, probate and family matters.

For more information about the changes to stamp duty, visit www.gov.uk.