The UK chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended a stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland in his 2021 Budget, as well as unveiling new mortgages with just 5% deposits.

The upper threshold for stamp duty, which is a tax on property transactions in England and Northern Ireland, will remain at £500,000 until 30 June for residential purchases. This means buyers avoid the tax altogether on purchases under that amount. It will then fall to only £250,000 for another three months, before returning to its standard £125,000 rate on the 1st of October onwards.

The government has today also announced that it will provide a mortgage guarantee to lenders on mortgages for first-time buyers if they can only afford a 5% deposit. Several major lenders including Lloyds, Barclays, NatWest, Santander and HSBC will offer them from next month, he said.

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