Sue Woodall, Director and Solicitor in Astle Paterson’s Conveyancing department discusses the call for stamp duty to be scrapped for older homeowners.
Sue said “The Council of Mortgage Lenders have recently spoken out about their concern that in the Government’s rush to help first time buyers get onto the property ladder, older homeowners have been overlooked.
Moray McDonald (chairman of the Council) stated in his address to a major mortgage conference that only 1% of retired homeowners had moved house in the last year.
The Chairman said this meant that ‘those homes are not released for families or indeed for redevelopment for the kinds of housing those older people would like to live in.’ He also stated that this ‘also blocks the passing of family capital to younger generations which we know would enable more people to buy sooner.’
Campaigners have now renewed their demands for ministers to axe stamp duty for over 65s in order to reduce the costs involved with moving, thus making doing so more financially feasible.”
Sue continued “It is hoped that, should the campaign be successful, the housing market would be more fluid and would enable people to downsize should they so wish”.
As Astle Paterson are Conveyancing Quality Scheme accredited and are best placed to help you through the process of buying or selling your home.
Please contact our conveyancing department on 01283 531366 or by email at conveyancing@astlepaterson.co.uk to discuss matters further.
