Coffins, crunches, and council tax. This week in property.
Will a rise in stamp duty prove to be the final ‘nail in the coffin’ for buy-to-let landlords?
A rise in stamp duty from April, coupled with existing challenges, could mark the breaking point for many buy-to-let landlords, leading to an exodus from the UK property market, a new report has warned.
Property investment platform UOWN 's report revealed that 83% of all housing transactions will incur stamp duty from April - up 34% on the current thresholds.
The report has laid bare the growing imbalance between rental supply and demand across the UK. Even if demand stabilises in 2025, UOWN reports that more landlords are selling their properties (+37% in December, up from +29% in November), further shrinking the rental stock.
In other news...
'Conveyancing crunch' could see over 60% of property purchases delayed or falling through
Analysis from instant home buyer, Upstix has revealed that as many as 62% of property purchases could be affected by next month's Stamp Duty deadline. Its survey of buyers currently in the process of purchasing revealed that if they cannot complete the purchase before March the 31st, 36% could try to renegotiate the price of their property to offset the Stamp Duty banding increases.
24% say they may have to borrow money if they miss the deadline, which could ultimately put their purchase at risk. Meanwhile, 19% of buyers say they could pull out of their property purchase altogether.
Fred Jones , CEO of Upstix said, "Conveyancers are juggling high volumes of clients, all keen to press forward at speed, and it simply won’t be possible to meet all this demand,"
Homeowners face 300% extra council tax for empty properties
Taxpayers could be facing additional council tax charges of up to 300% if their home has been empty for longer than 12 months unless their property is up for sale.
Matthew Crawford , partner at audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg explained, “Council tax bills will be landing on doormats across the country over the coming months, but many people are unaware that in England and Wales, local authorities are able to charge additional council tax charges, known as premiums when a property has been empty for a period of time,"
“It is important for owners of empty properties to be aware that additional reliefs have been put into statute from 1st April 2025 to limit the circumstances in which these premiums can be charged. Where the property is on the market for sale or for rental, it is possible to claim an exemption so that the additional charge does not apply for a twelve-month period,"
The true cost of being a landlord revealed
The financial burden on UK landlords is heavier than ever, with property maintenance costs soaring by 26.24% since 2022, according to new research from Towergate Direct.
The research highlighted the mounting pressures landlords face, from costly repairs to tenant disputes over responsibility and also found a dramatic drop in uninsured landlords. In 2022, 20% of landlords lacked insurance, but in 2024, this has plummeted to just 3.8%. However, this still leaves over 100,000 landlords financially vulnerable to unforeseen damages.
Could we see UK house prices break the ￡300k threshold this year?
The average UK house price could surpass the ￡300,000 threshold this year, according to data released this week by West One Loans , as market sentiment is further buoyed by an increasing number of buyers returning to the market. This increase in demand is expected to allow developers to release equity in existing schemes at a greater pace and break ground on their next project - bringing more new homes to market in the process.
According to the firm, average UK house prices could climb by 3.5% to 3.9% over the course of 2025 and should the market meet this expectation, it would see the average UK house price tip the ￡300,000 threshold to hit ￡303,913.