Petitions to Parliament · 2019 to 2024 Parliament (archived)

Extend the Stamp Duty Holiday for an additional 6 months after 31st March 2021

151,127 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 1 October 2020; it closed on 1 April 2021. The Government responded on 10 December 2020. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 1 February 2021.

The petition

The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.

Extend the Stamp Duty Holiday for an additional 6 months after 31st March 2021

Extending the Stamp Duty Holiday for an additional 6 months will assist many buyers who are looking to move to a property that they will not be able to afford otherwise.

This will help to stabilise the housing market

I am looking to move into a new build which is currently due to complete at the start of March 2021. If this build is delayed past 31st March 2021 then i will not be able to afford the stamp duty so will not be able to afford the house.

The Government's response

The Government published its response on 10 December 2020; the petitions site lists the HM Treasury as responsible. Its summary:

The SDLT holiday was designed to be a temporary relief to stimulate market activity and support jobs that rely on the property market. The Government does not plan to extend this temporary relief.

The response in full:

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown caused uncertainty for those buying and selling residential property and property transactions fell by as much as 50 per cent during the first national lockdown. To stimulate immediate momentum in the property market and to support the jobs of people whose employment relied on custom from the property industry, the Government decided to introduce a temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) relief. This relief increased the starting threshold of residential SDLT from £125,000 to £500,000 from the 8 July 2020 until 31 March 2021. Since the relief was introduced, transactions have increased and seasonally adjusted data shows that in October 2020, transactions were 8% higher than October 2019.

As the relief was to provide an immediate stimulus to the property market, the Government does not plan to extend this relief. SDLT is an important source of government revenue, raising several billion pounds each year to help pay for the essential services the Government provides.

The Government is committed to supporting home ownership and helping people get on and move up the housing ladder. When the SDLT Holiday ends, the Government will maintain a SDLT relief for first time buyers which increases the starting threshold of residential SDLT to £300,000 for first-time buyers that purchase a property below £500,000. In addition, a new Help to Buy scheme will be introduced from 1 April 2021. This scheme will run until March 2023.

All tax policy is kept under review and the Government considers the views it receives carefully as part of that process.

HM Treasury

Where the signatures came from

Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 679, came from Mid Bedfordshire.

150,686 of the signatures were from the UK and 441 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.

Debate in Parliament

MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 1 February 2021. .

Source and receipt

• https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/550545.json
  UK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256 453f9f2485a56503…
• The petition on petition.parliament.uk

The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.