What the evidence explicitly states
Fairer Share's Parliamentary evidence proposes a 0.96% rate for second homes, empty homes and non-resident-owned homes, including overseas owners. It also states that the owner, rather than the tenant, should be liable for the property tax.
For a £300,000 property, 0.96% produces £2,880 per year. For a £750,000 property, it produces £7,200 per year.
Stamp duty would not disappear for everyone
The proposal says SDLT would be abolished for primary residences but remain for second homes and non-resident buyers. A higher-rate property should therefore not be modelled as though it automatically receives an SDLT saving.
Rental property requires caution
The summary evidence clearly transfers liability from tenants to owners. It does not provide enough detail to classify every buy-to-let ownership structure, portfolio or mixed-use case confidently within this calculator. Whether a particular rented property would be treated as a second home or under another rule would need to be defined by an eventual policy or legislation.
Could landlords pass the cost to tenants?
The proposal changes legal liability, not the economics of the rental market by itself. Whether rents rise would depend on local supply, demand, tenancy law, competition and landlords' ability to absorb the charge. A simple calculator cannot establish the incidence of the tax.
Questions a final policy would need to answer
- How an owner's “primary residence” is established.
- The treatment of companies, trusts and joint owners.
- How portfolios and purpose-built rental homes are classified.
- Interaction with existing second-home Council Tax premiums.
- Valuation and appeal rules for tenanted property.
- Any transition caps, reliefs or exemptions.