In July 2020 the Chancellor announced that the nil rate band for stamp duty land tax would increase to £500,000, meaning homeowners purchasing property for less than this would have to pay no SDLT at all until 31 March 2021. PWW reported on the changes at the time and you can read our article here.
The good news for those with ongoing property purchases is the announcement by the government on 3 March that the deadline for the change to the nil rate band has been extended until 30 June 2021. Between 31 March 2021 and 30 June 2021, if you purchase a residential property, you will only pay SDLT on the amount that you pay for the property above £500,000.
The increase in the nil rate band applies to first time buyers and those who have purchased property before, as well as companies buying residential property. People purchasing second homes or as buy-to-let will still have to pay the additional 3% SDLT surcharge, but will also benefit from the increased nil rate band, paying just 3% up to £500,000.
The Chancellor also announced that, from 1 July 2021 until 30 September 2021, those purchasing property will only pay SDLT on property prices above £250,000. Whilst this is lower than the current nil rate band of £500,000, it is still higher than the pre-July 2020 nil rate band of £125,000, and will stand to benefit property buyers during this period.
The pre-July 2020 nil rate band of £125,000 will then apply to all property purchases from 1 October 2021.
The Chancellor also announced on 3 March a government-backed mortgage scheme put together to assist homebuyers buying properties worth up to £600,000. Under the scheme, the government will guarantee the loans of homebuyers who only have a 5% deposit. Previously these buyers have been priced out of the mortgage market. The hope is that, with the added comfort of a government guarantee, lenders will be encouraged to lend 95% mortgages, and these will be available to all buyers, not just first time buyers.
The scheme will run until late 2022, and major high street lenders like Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, Barclays and HSBC have already signed up.
PWW have an active residential property team who are ready to assist with all of your conveyancing needs. Please do not hesitate to contact our conveyancing team by clicking here. You can read more about our residential property services here and check our conveyancing fee scale here.
PWW are very pleased to announce that the firm has been ranked in the Legal 500 as specialists in the Charities and Not-For-Profit sector. A link to the ranking can be found here. A big thank you to all our clients who have helped us achieve this.
The second annual Charity Fraud Awareness Week is running this week and the main aims of the week are to:
- raise awareness of the key risks affecting the sector;
- promote and share good counter-fraud practices; and
- promote honesty and openness about fraud.
More information is available on the fraud advisory panels website here and the Charity Commission have updated their Guidance.
‘Protect your charity from fraud’ which has templates to assist charity trustees to counter fraud, available here.
If you would like further information, or have any specific queries, please contact us here.
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Anthony Seymour, a Solicitor in our property department, took part in the 11th annual 10km sponsored London Legal Walk as part of the City of Westminster and Holborn Law Society Team on the 16th May 2016 to raise funds for free legal advice centres around London. Over 10,000 walkers participated in the event this year walking after work around Central London. He raised £135. Congratulation Anthony! |
Pothecary Witham Weld are pleased to announce that we now have the
Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (“CQS”) accreditation
CQS establishes a universally recognised high quality standard for practices that operate residential conveyancing, and membership with CQS demonstrates that our Property Department meets the highest standards of technical expertise and client service in residential conveyancing transactions.
For anybody looking to buy a house, being quite often the most expensive purchase of anyone’s lifetime, it is essential that they can rely on the high quality service of a CQS-accredited practice, such as Pothecary Witham Weld.
For more information on CQS click here
Small Charity Week
Big Advice Day
PWW was pleased to sponsor and exhibit at the Big Advice Day hosted by the Foundation for Social Improvement which took place at The Loft in Islington on 16th June.
The event was particularly aimed at those charities with a turnover of under £1.5 million and provided up to 160 delegates access to expert speakers who delivered sessions on a variety of topics essential to small charities. PWW took part in giving 1 on 1 free advice sessions to delegates and we are pleased to report that a total of 282 hours of advice was given by various organisations.
We enjoyed meeting and giving advice to many of the delegates on the day and look forward to discussing various issues raised in the future.
You can find more information about the day at the following link Big Advice Day
Tina Wong joins Private Client Team
We are pleased to welcome Tina Wong to our Private Client Team. Tina qualified as a solicitor in 1997 and is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Gerald Kidd, a Partner in the Private Client department comments “Tina specialises in drafting Wills, administration of estates, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection matters. Tina’s membership of “STEP” means she brings a wealth of experience, to complement the other members of staff in our team”.
Well Done Team PWW
On the 18th May 2015, a group of eight from Pothecary Witham Weld took part in a 10km sponsored walk to raise funds for the London Legal Support Trust, an independent charity, responsible for facilitating free legal advice to pro bono centres in and around London and the South East. Very often the circumstances for the most vulnerable people reach a point where only the intervention of a lawyer or specialist caseworker can resolve the problems. Over the past few years, the need for that help has increased and the resources to provide the help have reduced. This was the 11th annual London Legal Walk and is the largest gathering of legal professionals in the UK, all walking with friends and colleagues in supporting access to justice.
Despite fears of British downpours dampening the evening, we were fortunate to have had an evening of summer sunshine. The walk route commenced at the Law Society and continued alongside the Royal Courts of Justice, past the Embankment, Buckingham Palace, through to a picturesque view of Hyde Park at sunset, and finally onto Trafalgar Square, leading all 9,000 walkers back to an impressive street party and well deserved food and drinks.
We are pleased to announce that at present, the firm has raised £330.00 for such a worthwhile cause. The team members would like to thank all of our sponsors who have donated so generously. Our fundraising page remains live at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/PWW should you wish to make a post-event donation.
