Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to issue advice to local authorities on property transactions that have commenced and not completed and searches have been lodged with them, prior to the deadline for the stamp duty holiday being applied.
We have always been clear to local authorities that they should complete local searches within 10 working days and we continue to monitor their performance. Authorities are aware of the importance of home moves at this time and are balancing this with the need to respond to COVID-19. We have no plans to issue any further advice in respect of the SDLT holiday.