Having products that are up-to-date and reflect the current market is important to you, so it's important to us too.

We want LandFund to have all the features you need to make building accurate appraisals easy. That means if something changes, whether in government policy or in industry standards, we'll work hard and fast to implement those changes in LandFund, allowing you to work efficiently and stay ahead of the competition.

We constantly monitor any changes to the landscape that will impact Developers so we can instantly reflect the changes in our appraisal tool.

So, what's the latest update? Stamp Duty.

What is Stamp Duty? 

Stamp Duty or Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax paid when you purchase a property or land over a certain price in England and Northern Ireland.

The amount you pay changes depending on your situation. Factors that influence the rate you pay include:

• If you're purchasing a residential, non-residential or mixed use property
• If you are purchasing a second/additional property

What are the changes? 

In September, the UK government announced an amendment to the rate of Stamp Duty applied to residential transactions. In short, the minimum cost of a property on which homebuyers pay stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland has been raised from £125,000 to £250,000.

Stamp Duty is charged at 15% on residential properties costing more than £500,000 bought by certain corporate bodies or ‘non-natural persons’. These include:

• Companies
• Partnerships including companies
• Collective investment schemes

Some businesses, including property developers, are relieved from the 15% higher rate charge. You can find further information on this here. 

How has LandFund changed?

Our stamp duty calculator has been updated to reflect government modifications to residential stamp duty.

We don't like to brag but LandFund's stamp duty calculator was updated quicker than the official UK Government calculator, which proves it really does pay to be a LandFund user (p.s. it's free to use).

Here's how you use it:

• Head to the Developments dashboard on LandFund
• Open your desired appraisal, or create a new one
• Head to the 'Land Acquisition' section to find the Stamp Duty calculator
• Use the multiple choice options to input a few details about the home or property you are purchasing
• Done!

There's always more

1. We'll continue to keep our ear to the ground for any updates that might impact developers. For example, proposed changes to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

   
   

   To give you a brief overview, the UK Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill will include the introduction of an Infrastructure Levy (IL) to replace CIL in England. This would be adopted by charging authorities throughout the country and means CIL charging schedules will cease to have effect.

   
   

   How does this relate to LandFund?

2.  

3.  

   Well, IL would be tied to the gross development value (GDV) of a project, rather than residential gross internal area (GIA).

4.  

5. Luckily, we have a quick and easy way to calculate that within LandFund.

   
   

   Don't worry though, we'll let you know when that change takes place.

Click the button below to visit LandFund and try out our updated Stamp Duty calculator now.

If you've not yet signed up (did we mention it's free?!) you can do that here.