Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:52 pm on 14 December 2021.
Thank you, Minister. That's a really positive statement, and I thank you for your commitment to getting this right. This isn't a political matter; this is something we just all want to address and make better for the residents who've been suffering so much. I recognise the good work that the Welsh Government and the UK Government have been doing to address this. It is, as you said, an extremely complex issue and it's not going to be solved overnight, but I'm pleased we're moving in the right direction. Mabon asked some of the questions I would have asked, and you've explained that, and I understand that you haven't got all the answers now, but we will learn more about the scheme as it rolls out in the spring.
There is another point that is linked to all of this that I would like to raise, though, Minister, and it's regarding land transaction tax that is being charged on home purchases. One of my constituents has got a prominent premises in the Celestia development. They bought a new family home with their partner back in 2019, and were in the process of selling their flat that they'd purchased themselves. They were selling that to help fund their next home, with no intention of having a second home at all. However, due to issues with obtaining that EWS1 certificate, with the developer of the apartment block confirming that there are compliance issues with fire safety regulations, the constituent was unable to sell the flat. This meant that they were charged a higher rate of land transaction tax, as they were deemed to have owned a second property. This higher rate was equivalent to around £12,000 more than they would have originally been charged had this issue not existed. To make matters worse, it's unlikely that they will be able to reclaim the higher land transaction tax charge, as remediation work is likely to take a substantial amount of time, and so any future sale is likely to be past the three-year window for reclaiming the higher rate of land transaction tax.
I understand in England that the UK Government has decided to allow an extension to the period of time in which stamp duty land tax can be reclaimed due to fire safety issues causing problems in sales. Minister, is this something that you could consider introducing at least as a short-term measure to help out homeowners who are being held back by these sorts of issues? It's something, I think, that would be a way to ease some of those further pressures that some are facing. Thank you for that.