Multiple dwellings relief scrapped this weekend

We have closed a number of deals where MDR was sought. This was a loophole that has unfairly favoured developers and large portfolio landlords to the detriment of retail buyers and should have been removed a while ago. The most common use of the MDR relief for portfolio landlords is when buying a block of flats. In the Midlands and across the North East, it is not uncommon for portfolio landlords and investors to buy a block of say, 8 x £60k flats. That's still under £0.5m, which would barely buy you an apartment in outer London. So effectively, MDR helped investors looking to buy blocks. Other use cases for MDR would have been semi-commercial blocks with shops on the ground and apartments above across high streets in most major towns. These types of transactions will now slow down and will increase the cost of converted apartments, since the developer will have to pay more. Acquisition costs of granny-annexed homes will no doubt also increase as a result of increased SDLT payable.