A petition calling for a full review of council tax and stamp duty has passed 100,000 signatures, making it eligible for consideration for a Commons debate after closing on 23 July with 101,907 backers.
The fresh development is not the tax proposal itself but the political threshold it has now crossed. The petition asks ministers to commission an independent review of both taxes, while the government has already used its formal response to defend the current system and to repeat that the higher 5 percent SDLT rate on additional dwellings is meant to give first-time buyers an advantage over landlords, second-home buyers and companies.
For landlords, that matters now because the debate is no longer just about owner-occupier fairness. Any parliamentary scrutiny of stamp duty is likely to reopen questions about whether the extra SDLT burden on buy-to-let purchases is suppressing investment, slowing portfolio reshuffles and making some acquisitions harder to justify.
What the petition is asking ministers to review
The petition, backed by campaign group Fairer Share, argues that council tax still relies on 1991 property values and that stamp duty distorts moves by loading a large one-off charge onto purchases. Its proposed alternative is a proportional annual property tax, though the immediate ask is for a full independent review rather than an instant tax switch.
Ministers have so far shown no sign of backing down. In the government’s response, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said council tax and SDLT together raise about £60 billion a year, defended council tax as a settled and predictable revenue source, and repeated that the Autumn Budget 2024 decision to raise higher SDLT rates on additional dwellings from 3 percent to 5 percent would help people buying a main home.
That line is the part landlords will notice. The government explicitly framed the surcharge as a policy lever against landlords and other multiple-property buyers, and said the change is expected to raise £310 million by 2029-30.
Why landlords should watch the Commons debate
A Commons debate would not force a tax rewrite, and no debate date has yet been scheduled. But crossing 100,000 signatures puts the issue back into a live parliamentary channel at a time when landlords are already weighing heavier tax, finance and compliance costs before buying again.
That is where the landlord angle becomes more practical than theoretical. A buyer adding one rental property now faces a higher upfront SDLT bill than before the 2024 Budget, even before legal fees, mortgage costs or refurbishment are counted. For smaller investors in particular, that can change whether a deal works at all.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s June report on MPs pressing ministers to consult on stamp duty reform, which highlighted calls for a wider rethink of transaction taxes as landlord costs kept rising. The latest petition does not change policy on its own, but it adds public pressure and keeps tax reform in the political frame.
There is also a wider property-tax backdrop. Landlord Knowledge has already reported on calls to replace council tax and stamp duty with a broader annual charge, as well as the government’s separate move toward a high-value council tax surcharge on homes worth more than £2 million. Taken together, the direction of travel is clear enough: property taxation is moving back up the housing agenda, and landlords are firmly inside the target zone.
The petition itself is available on the UK Parliament petitions site, where the final signature count and the government’s response are published in full.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re buying again: keep the 5 percent additional-dwellings SDLT charge front and centre in deal appraisals, especially on lower-margin purchases.
- Watch for: whether the Petitions Committee schedules a debate and whether MPs use it to reopen the case for broader stamp duty reform.
- Bottom line: this is not a tax cut story yet, but it is a sign that the political argument over landlord purchase costs is heating up again.
Editor’s view
Tax petitions rarely change policy on their own. But once a six-figure signature count forces the Commons to look, ministers lose some control over the timetable. For landlords, that means SDLT is back in the conversation whether the Treasury wants it there or not.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 27 July 2026
Sources: UK Parliament petitions website, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Related reading: MPs tell ministers to consult on stamp duty reform by year end
