Well, I was feeling slightly smug for a few weeks about Scotland not being affected by the 3% surcharge for buying a second home that was announced in the Autumn Statement, but despite the SNP’s avowed loathing of Westminster, they’ve not hesitated in going, ‘Oh, that’s a good idea,’ and doing exactly the same for LBTT (Land and Building Transactions Tax, our version of stamp duty).
Scottish Budget: New 3% levy for buying second homes
I’m really not sure what the recent flurry of legislation affecting landlords is supposed to do, other than reduce the amount of rental stock, thus pushing rents up. Anyway, if my purchase looks like it’s going to get anywhere close to not completing by the date this comes in (unlikely, but then I thought I’d be six weeks into renovations by now!), I shall be strongly suggesting that the seller pays it.
Interesting point about passing the duty to the seller Caroline. South of the border we have just seen the rush of competitions post April the 1st. When we discuss this with landlord clients some advise they will look at future buy to let purchases via a Ltd company to help limit stamp duty impact – Or to reduce offers to cover the duty.