Some UK resident companies that are controlled by non-UK residents will also be liable
Non-UK residents who wish to buy a property in England and Northern Ireland will have to pay a 2 per cent stamp duty land tax surcharge from today, 1 April.
The surcharge applies to freehold and leasehold property purchase and on rents on the grant of a new lease. Purchasers who intend to live in the property must pay the surcharge.
Additionally, some UK resident companies that are controlled by non-UK residents will be liable.
Government guidelines state that individual buyers will be able to have the surcharge refunded if they are present in the UK for at least 183 days during any continuous 365-day period within two years referenced by the date of transaction.
All buyers must satisfy this rule, although different 365-day periods are allowed.
Jackson-Stops director Harry Buchanan says: Despite the introduction of the additional stamp duty surcharge for foreign buyers today, we expect prime central London to remain an extremely attractive prospect for international buyers.
We are already starting to see pent up demand from overseas buyers starting to build. Over the past two months, numbers of buyers visiting our website from the UAE have increased by 31 per cent, while website searches from Hong Kong have gone up 33 per cent, he says.
In particular, more buyers from Hong Kong are getting in touch following the UK’s offer of an easier path to citizenship for Hongkongers with British National (Overseas) passports. These buyers are specifically looking to become owner occupiers and are particularly keen to be close to good schooling, Buchanan says.
He says: The increasing demand we are seeing gives us a strong indication that interest in prime central London will continue to be high, especially for turnkey properties that can double up as a lock and leave which we know tend to be most sought after by foreign buyers, as well as properties close to transport hubs.