FOLLOWING THE BUDGET, THERE IS GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS FOR THE
PROPERTY INDUSTRY.
By Sarah Hartill
Good news stories in the Budget included the disaggregation of
stamp duty on bulk house purchasing and potential changes to the UK
REIT regime – which are covered in more detail later in
the bulletin.
Stamp duty land tax
The bulk purchase rule means that the rate of stamp duty land
tax (SDLT) may by election be determined by the average value of
each of the dwellings acquired, rather than the total transaction
value. This is subject to a minimum rate of 1%.
This means that the stamp duty burden for multiple unit
investors will be more aligned to that of individual unit investors
on the purchase of residential properties. It is hoped this will
encourage more institutional funds into residential property
investment. This measure will apply for transactions where the
effective date is on or after the date on which the 2011 Finance
Bill receives Royal Assent.
