Yes, buying and selling a house, and perhaps multiple houses as you go through life.
It’s a complicated process. There’s an incredible range of things that need to be done to make a transaction happen, and you are left hoping everybody else in the chain has done the same thing as carefully as you have, so that there are no hiccups.
This week, the government is expected to announce measures to improve the process of buying and selling homes. We await full details, but the focus is welcome.
There’s much that can be done and we should be bold.
Let’s look at a really radical solution. The government should digitise the UK property sales process. This means creating a seamless digital journey that covers everything from title deeds searches, mortgages, mortgage details, anti-money laundering checks, and service charge accounts through to solicitor inquiries and contract exchange.
Digitisation could shorten the time it takes to progress from an accepted offer to completion, reducing delays, uncertainty, and costs for everyone involved.
The challenge is that many different industries and stakeholders need to align and modernise simultaneously – lenders, conveyancers, estate agents, local authorities, regulators, and more. A stronger government focus, clear standards, and targeted investments can bring about meaningful change. Only with a coordinated national effort can the property market truly unlock the efficiencies and transparency that digitalisation offers.
Three quick wins
The first thing the government could do is abolish Stamp Duty Land Tax. It’s a terrible tax that’s easily avoided – you don’t move. And that’s no good for anybody. The Treasury takes a very siloed view of SDLT. During the pandemic, the Stamp Duty limit was raised to £500,000, with the intention of keeping a key part of the economy moving.
It worked. People moved.
There is, of course, a significant budget cost, which is why the Treasury likes Stamp Duty. Various ideas for alternative property taxes are being proposed, such as a proportional property tax linked to property values. Such ideas require careful consideration to avoid unintended consequences, but would be preferable to stamp duty, which causes considerable economic harm.
What else could it do? They could look at the resources available to the Land Registry, which is an essential source of information for solicitors processing deeds and mortgage applications. The process is too long, and any delay in the system risks the potential for everything to go wrong and fall apart.
Similarly, and in the sad circumstances of the death of a relative and the need to tidy up their affairs, the whole process of being granted probate takes an incredible amount of time. It’s also worrying for those having to deal with these matters because of the pressures from HMRC to settle an estate and pay any inheritance tax which is due.
Why are these systems so creaky? I don’t know the answer, but I know change is possible. The passport office has completely revamped its operation in recent years, transforming from a holiday horror show to a smoothly efficient machine.
Our independent committee
All this assumes there are houses and homes people want to buy and live in. The government has an ambitious target of building 1.5 million by the end of the parliament.
The government has made a start by changing planning laws, but there is much more that needs to be done. This is essential for a housing market that works efficiently and contributes to economic growth.
The Independent Housing Policy and Delivery Committee, which I chair, will mark the government’s exam paper and offer supportive suggestions about how it might achieve its aims.
Over the next few months, we will carefully consider all the changes underway and provide comments, with the hope that long-term policies can help us overcome the housing crisis we face in the UK today.
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Vince Cable is the former leader of the Liberal Democrat party from 2017-19. He was Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills for five years.
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