Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Stamp Duty returns to determine the number of house purchases in the last five recorded years by (1) first-time buyers, (2) home owners who are not first-time buyers, and (3) landlords, second home owners and other investors in residential property.

HMRC publishes quarterly and annual Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) statistics. Between 2016-17 and 2020-21 there were 5,284,000 residential SDLT transactions. The full report can be found on the gov.uk website.

Of these, 4,779,000 were transactions by individuals.

The SDLT relief for first time buyers was introduced in 2017. Since introduction, 576,900 transactions have claimed this relief. The full report can be found on the gov.uk website.

This figure does not accurately represent the number of first-time buyers because the temporary SDLT holiday, which ran from July 2020 until September 2021, meant that it was not necessary for first time buyers to claim this relief. In addition, first time buyers who purchase a property above £500,000 or below £125,000 are unable to claim the relief and will not be reflected in these statistics.

The Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings SDLT Surcharge (HRAD) was introduced in 2016 and applies to transactions where the purchaser already owns property. Between 2016-17 and 2020-21, 1,127,500 transactions were liable to HRAD. This figure includes transactions that would subsequently sell their previous main residence and receive a refund of the surcharge paid. 115,400 transactions were refunded between 2016-17 and 2020-21.