The clamour to extend the stamp duty holiday has reached new levels after it was revealed that around 100,000 sales already agreed could miss out on the saving.

Rishi Sunak's raised the stamp duty threshold for residential property purchases to £500,000 in July 2020 – but from April 1 2021 it will revert to £125,000.

Analysis from Rightmove shows that a host of pre-agreed sales will not go through in time.

And house builder Persimmon has said it has already seen a drop in sales with the overall house price growth figure beginning to fall.

A petition to extend the holiday for another six months has surpassed 100,000 signatures parliament is set to debate the issue - with reports emerging that Number 11 is already looking at options.

Autumn Lewis, a social media manager and first-time buyer in Norwich, is currently waiting to exchange on a property having had an offer accepted last year.

She said: "We planned to be well ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday but understandably things have been moving slower than normal.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed that at the stage we're at we will complete on time but there's simply aren't any guarantees at the moment.

"Whether we are in time for the holiday or not is one thing but there will be people who can't afford to move without the break but have agreed a sale - they stand to lose a lot of money through no fault of their own."

An extension to the stamp duty break has been backed by the Eastern Daily Press' Fightback East campaign, which is pushing government to make promises to kickstart the region's economy.

Amanda Angel, legal director in Birketts’ residential property team, said: “The first lockdown saw a freeze on activities in many sectors, one of which was the UK housing market, resulting in the almost overnight collapse of very many property chains.

Norwich Evening News: Amanda Angel, legal director in Birketts’ residential property teamAmanda Angel, legal director in Birketts’ residential property team (Image: Birketts)

"The stamp duty holiday was introduced in a bid to spur the housing market back into action. The holiday period has resulted in an unprecedented increase in new transactions with many sectors struggling under the increased workloads.

"To stand a realistic chance of hitting the deadline of end March for completion a transaction would need to be mid-way through by now, which in most cases will mean that solicitors were appointed and contracts issued before the Christmas break. At the very least, searches should have been returned by now.”

Nicola Lebish, senior associate and head of enfranchisement in the residential property team, added: “There is undoubtedly a need for the holiday to be extended so that all those people who have already found properties can move and benefit from the SDLT saving.

Norwich Evening News: Nicola Lebish, senior associate and head of enfranchisement in the Birketts residential property teamNicola Lebish, senior associate and head of enfranchisement in the Birketts residential property team (Image: Birketts)


"In addition, more and more contracts now include ‘COVID clauses’ which allow for a delay in completion should anyone in the chain be unable to move due to COVID-19.

"Such a delay could take completion after March 31 which then penalises the parties who would otherwise have been able to complete.

"That will only prejudice existing transactions for parties who may well be unable to proceed due to lack of funds to meet the additional SDLT liability.”