Stamp Duty must be cut, overhauled or replaced to reduce barriers to homeownership, insists an influential group of MPs.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee is also calling for a consultation by the end of 2026.

The committee says: “Stamp Duty Land Tax is a transaction tax that puts barriers in front of people seeking to buy a new home.

Stamp Duty Land Tax reduces the affordability of home ownership, slows the property market, and ultimately damages the economy.”

“Despite a discount for first-time buyers, Stamp Duty Land Tax reduces the affordability of home ownership, slows the property market, and ultimately damages the economy.”

While acknowledging it is a “valuable source of revenue for public finances”, the report adds that “Stamp Duty Land Tax must not be maintained in its current form and needs to be reformed.”

MPs want ministers to consider different options, including abolishing Stamp Duty, reducing rates, revising thresholds to better reflect local property values and updating existing reliefs and exemptions. Any review, it adds, should be carried out alongside the reform of Council Tax.

Homeownership declining

Committee Chair Florence Eshalomi says: “Rates of homeownership in England have declined over the last 20 years. For many people, and especially for those unable to draw upon the bank of Mum and Dad, the prospect of owning a home is little more than a pipe dream.”

Responding to the committee’s findings, a Treasury spokesperson told The Telegraph that first-time buyers pay no Stamp Duty on homes worth up to £300,000 and can claim relief on purchases up to £500,000.

Stamp Duty receipts, however, totalled £4.3billion in the first four months of 2026, around 6% lower than during the same period last year.