Zoopla has called for the 5% stamp duty threshold to be lifted from £250,000 to £500,000, arguing the current structure is dragging on transactions and adding up to £12,500 in costs for buyers in higher-value parts of England.

Richard Donnell, the portal’s executive director, said the current band now catches large numbers of average buyers in southern markets rather than only higher-end purchases. On a £500,000 home, the tax bill reaches £12,500, while a £600,000 purchase attracts £20,000 of duty before legal and moving costs are added.

For landlords and investors, the proposal matters because stamp duty remains one of the biggest frictions in buying, restructuring or trading stock. Any serious debate about raising the standard threshold would not remove the extra dwelling surcharge, but it would reopen the wider argument over whether transaction taxes are choking mobility and market turnover.

Zoopla says the middle market is carrying too much tax

Zoopla argues the 5% band between £250,001 and £925,000 now hits ordinary southern transactions hard because house prices have shifted faster than tax thresholds. That leaves buyers paying levels of duty that increasingly distort decision-making, especially in London and the South East.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said the current 5% band is a disincentive to move for many average-priced buyers in southern England.

That argument is not framed around landlords alone, but the knock-on effect for investors is clear. A market with weaker turnover can limit buying opportunities, slow exits and make it harder for landlords to rebalance portfolios without taking a tax hit before refurbishment or finance costs are even counted.

This follows Residential Landlord’s recent coverage of MPs pressing ministers to consult on stamp duty reform by the end of the year. Residential Landlord has also highlighted how flat house prices are giving buyers more leverage as sellers adjust, adding to evidence that transaction costs are shaping market behaviour rather than simply raising revenue.

Current official guidance on how the tax works remains available through the government’s stamp duty rates page.

Landlords still face the surcharge question

Even if ministers entertained a higher standard threshold, landlords would still face the additional property surcharge, so the proposal would not by itself reset investor economics. But it does matter as a marker of how mainstream housing voices are again focusing on transaction tax as a barrier to activity.

There is also a political warning here. Once reform arguments move from fringe lobbying to major portals and parliamentary committees, pressure tends to build quickly. Landlords considering acquisitions later this year will be watching closely for any sign that buyers could get partial relief while the surcharge remains untouched.

That would create a mixed outcome – more fluid owner-occupier demand in some markets, but no matching improvement for investors. In other words, reform could still leave landlords paying a relatively heavier price to trade.

Opinion

Zoopla is tapping into a real problem. Stamp duty has become too blunt for a market where ordinary southern homes now breach old tax thresholds with ease. But unless any reform also confronts the surcharge on additional dwellings, landlords will be entitled to ask whether the system is being made fairer or simply more selective.