(The Financial Secretary to
the Treasury): The past weeks have been an uncertain time
for those buying and selling property. Since lockdown
restrictions were implemented in March, more than 450,000 people
have been unable to make progress with their plans to move house.
Following the publication of updated regulations on 13 May 2020,
some of the restrictions initially placed on the housing market
have now been lifted. The Government’s step by step plan is based
on the latest guidance and is designed to ensure the safety and
protection of everyone involved in the process of buying or
selling a home.
The Government recognises, however, that as a result of the
restrictions placed on the housing market, some people have been
unable to sell a previous main residence within the three year
window allowed in order to qualify for a refund of the three per
cent higher rates of SDLT.
In the vast majority of cases, the existing three-year window
provides sufficient time for people in a wide variety of personal
circumstances to sell a previous residence, and the three-year
window for most taxpayers will not be changing.
But, in certain specific cases, an extension to the three-year
window can now be granted by HMRC once a property is sold if an
affected taxpayer was not able to make a sale within the
three-year window due to exceptional circumstances outside their
control.
Affected taxpayers must make a sale as soon as practicable once
the exceptional impediment to sale ceases to apply, and this
amendment applies to those whose refund window ended on or after
1 January 2020.
HMRC will set out operational guidance on the cases which will
qualify for an extended refund window in due course. Taxpayers
can write to HMRC setting out their individual circumstances and
HMRC will make decisions to grant an extension on a case by case
basis. HMRC will also closely monitor the number and type of
applications for an extension, as a protection against cases of
fraud and abuse.
