Home Buying news in 2022
19 stories, newest first.
- December 2022
House purchase lending begins sustained year-on-year decline
UK Finance reports that lending to first time buyers and home movers fell year on year in every month from December 2022, with a further contraction expected in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Minister announces Help to Buy - Wales extended to March 2025 with new price cap and EPC rules
The Welsh Government extended Help to Buy Wales to March 2025, raising the purchase price cap from £250,000 to £300,000 and requiring homes sold through the scheme to meet EPC B.
- November 2022
Autumn Statement introduces sunset clause to SDLT relief
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt used the Autumn Statement on 17 November 2022 to add a sunset clause to the stamp duty land tax reduction, ending the relief in March 2025.
- October 2022
Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme closed to new applicants in England
The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme closed to new applicants in England on 31 October 2022, ending a route to buying a new build home with a smaller deposit.
Starting threshold for main residential LTT rises to £225,000 in Wales
The Welsh Government raised the starting threshold for main residential Land Transaction Tax in Wales from £180,000 to £225,000 on 10 October 2022, with the first band from £225,000 to £400,000 taxed at 6%.
Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme closed to new applications in England and Scotland
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme closed to new applications in England and Scotland in October 2022, while the separate Welsh scheme continues and existing borrowers can still remortgage or repay.
- September 2022
Welsh Government announces changes to main residential LTT rates and bands
The Welsh Government announced on 27 September 2022 that main residential rates of Land Transaction Tax would change on 10 October 2022, raising the starting threshold from £180,000 to £225,000.
Chancellor announces SDLT threshold increases
Kwasi Kwarteng announced on 23 September 2022 that stamp duty land tax nil rate bands would rise, cutting the tax for many buyers in England and Northern Ireland until March 2025.
SDLT nil-band threshold change reflected in guidance
HMRC has updated its Stamp Duty Land Tax relief guidance to reflect the nil-band threshold change that took effect on 23 September 2022, covering first-time buyers and multiple dwellings.
New SDLT rates introduced on 23 September 2022
HMRC added worked examples to its leasehold Stamp Duty Land Tax guidance on 23 September 2022, showing the residential rates that took effect in England that day.
Government announced removal of 2% standard rate band and raised FTBR thresholds
The government announced on 22 September 2022 that the 2% standard rate of stamp duty land tax on the portion of a residential property price between £125,000 and £250,000 no longer applies.
Stamp duty cut announced, benefiting London first-time buyers most
The Resolution Foundation says the September 2022 fiscal statement's stamp duty cut will reduce the tax bill on the average first-time buyer home in London by £6,300, with no gain in the North East.
- July 2022
VAT rate for energy-saving materials in residential buildings in Great Britain cut to 0%
VAT on energy-saving materials installed in residential buildings in Great Britain is now 0%, HMRC guidance confirms, with the relief running until 31 March 2027.
- June 2022
Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 comes into force
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 came into force on 30 June 2022, ending financial ground rent on most new long residential leases in England and Wales.
Building Safety Act 2022 leaseholder protections come into force
Financial protections for leaseholders in buildings at least 11 metres or five storeys high with historical safety defects took effect on 28 June 2022 under the Building Safety Act 2022.
Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 comes into force
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 came into force on 30 June 2022, ending ground rents on most new residential leases in England and Wales.
Stamp Duty holiday ended, equity withdrawal for purchase fell away
Equity withdrawal at remortgage to fund additional property purchases fell back towards pre-pandemic levels after the temporary Stamp Duty holiday ended, UK Finance's Q1 2022 review reports.
- April 2022
Social rents set to rise by up to 4.1 per cent, the largest rise in a decade
Social rents in England can rise by up to 4.1 per cent from April 2022 under the CPI plus 1 percentage point cap, the largest increase in a decade, adding £202 a year for the average social renter family.
- February 2022
First Homes scheme launched as new Government scheme
The Building Societies Association has published a factsheet on the First Homes scheme, a government programme offering homes to local first-time buyers and key workers at a discount to market price.