Landlords and second-home buyers now account for most Stamp Duty receipts in more than half of English councils, according to new Paragon Bank analysis of government data, pointing to how heavily local tax receipts now rely on additional-property purchases.
Paragon said higher-rate additional dwelling (HRAD) transactions generated at least half of total Stamp Duty receipts in 164 English local authorities in 2024-25, up from 62 in 2016-17. That means 56 percent of councils now get most of their Stamp Duty take from second homes and buy-to-let purchases, compared with 22 percent when the surcharge was first introduced.
Northern councils now rely most on HRAD receipts
The analysis suggests the highest reliance is no longer limited to obvious holiday-home markets. Instead, many of the councils where HRAD purchases make up the largest share of receipts are major urban authorities in the Midlands and North, which Paragon said points more clearly to buy-to-let investment than second-home demand.
Kingston upon Hull derived 97 percent of its Stamp Duty receipts from HRAD transactions in 2024-25, followed by Sandwell and Blackpool on 92 percent. Hyndburn and Barking and Dagenham were both close behind on 89 percent, while Manchester, Salford, Nottingham and Wolverhampton also featured prominently.
Regionally, Yorkshire and the Humber had the highest concentration, with 93 percent of local authorities generating at least half their Stamp Duty receipts from additional-property purchases. The figure was 92 percent in the North East and 89 percent in the North West, compared with 34 percent in the South East and 33 percent in the East of England.
Louisa Sedgwick, managing director of mortgages at Paragon Bank, said the numbers showed a more complex outcome than policymakers may have intended when the surcharge was introduced.
She said: “The Stamp Duty surcharge was designed to moderate buy-to-let and second-home demand, but the longer-term effect has been to entrench additional-property purchases as a core source of Stamp Duty revenue. A decade on, the receipts data points to a more complicated outcome.”
Stamp Duty policy is shifting investment north
Paragon said the 3 percent surcharge introduced in April 2016, and lifted to 5 percent in the 2024 Autumn Budget, appears to have changed where landlords are buying rather than removing demand altogether. In cheaper regional markets, the tax hit is easier to absorb, which helps explain why northern authorities dominate the table.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on northern buy-to-let investment gaining ground as the Stamp Duty surcharge reached its tenth year. The latest local-authority figures add weight to that pattern by showing just how concentrated additional-property tax receipts have become outside the south of England.
Separate Landlord Knowledge coverage of rising landlord company formations also points to investors adapting their structure and location choices rather than leaving the market altogether.
The wider backdrop is set out in HMRC’s annual Stamp Tax Statistics commentary, which shows SDLT receipts rose sharply in 2024-25 and notes that the increase in the HRAD surcharge from 3 percent to 5 percent helped drive revenues higher.
Sedgwick warned there was a limit to how much further landlords could absorb higher transaction costs, especially in southern markets where purchase prices are already higher. She said there was a risk of creating a two-tier market, with weaker investment in the south feeding future stock shortages and rental inflation.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re buying in the South: transaction tax is taking a larger bite out of upfront returns, so deal selection and yield discipline matter more than ever.
- Watch for: further evidence that higher purchase taxes are pushing buy-to-let demand toward lower-priced northern cities and large regional towns.
- Bottom line: Stamp Duty has not removed landlord demand, but it is reshaping where capital goes and where rental supply may tighten next.
Editor’s view
Stamp Duty policy is often framed as a brake on investor demand. What these figures suggest instead is a redirection effect. For landlords, that matters because tax changes do not hit all regions equally – and the next supply squeeze may be felt most where investment becomes hardest to justify.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 7 May 2026
Sources: Paragon Bank analysis, HMRC annual Stamp Tax Statistics
Related reading: BTL investment shifts north as stamp duty surcharge marks 10-year anniversary
