Rightmove seeks agent views on stamp duty reform to take to government

The UK’s largest property platform Rightmove is calling for agent views on how reforms to the stamp duty system could work best in England.

It follows rumours the government is considering changes to the way the tax works in England in the forthcoming Autumn Budget. One rumoured proposal would see the current system replaced by a national annual property tax for sellers of homes valued over £500,000.

Rightmove wants to hear directly from agents about their thoughts on how agents as the experts think that the stamp duty system could be changed for the better, for Rightmove to present findings to government.

Rightmove has frequently called for changes to the way the stamp duty system works, to reduce the barrier to movement.

Improvements to the system previously called for include a raising of the zero-rate thresholds permanently in-line with house price growth, and the option for buyers to delay and stagger stamp duty payments.

Rightmove has raised concerns about how the rumoured government changes to stamp duty payments would work in practice given the lack of detail.

While there are some potential benefits to first-time buyers who would no longer face the tax, there is a risk of distorting the market around the £500,000 price point. Much more consideration is also needed to avoid deterring those in higher value or larger homes from moving if the tax is only implemented at the point of a sale.

Agents can share their views on stamp duty with Rightmove here: https://hub.rightmove.co.uk/stamp-duty-speculation-2025/#form

Ahead of the Autumn Budget, Rightmove will share the views of agents alongside the opinions and thoughts of home-movers with the government.

Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert says: We’ve been calling for stamp duty reform for some time now, as it’s a significant barrier for many people moving home. We hope to see considered improvements in the way the system works in the upcoming Budget and will be sharing the views of both expert agents and home-movers with the government.”

Current average stamp duty charges by region

ENDS

About Rightmove

• Rightmove has the UK’s largest selection of properties for sale and to rent, adds more listings than anyone else, and over 80% of all time spent on property portals is on Rightmove.
• Rightmove’s vision is to give everyone the belief that they can make their move by giving people the best place to turn and return to for access to tools and expertise to make it happen.
• Users can search Rightmove for residential resale, new homes, rentals, built for rent, commercial property and overseas properties. Rightmove also provide an extensive range of tools and information assisting their home moving journey, including but not limited to: local sold prices, online property valuation, agent visit requests, moving guides, mortgage in principle certification, renovation calculator, extension explorer, home services for renters like utilities, media and insurance, school information, moving guides and sustainability information.
• Partners (Rightmove’s customers) include the following key groups: estate agents, letting agents, new homes developers, rental operators, commercial property operators, overseas property agents, financial services operators and home services providers for insurance, utilities and media.
• Using the UK’s largest housing datasets, we issue a number of regular reports to track housing market indicators: our monthly House Price Index (established 2002), quarterly Rental Trends Tracker (established 2015), weekly Mortgage Rates Tracker (established 2023) and quarterly Commercial Insights Tracker (established 2024). Historical data is available on request
• Founded in 2000, Rightmove listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 and is a member of the FTSE 100 index.
• For more information, please visit rightmove.co.uk/claims