Berkeley Group, a FTSE 250 company, is calling on the government to reform stamp duty rules due to uncertainty in the UK housing market, which has led to cautious buyers. The company expects pre-tax profits to be higher in the first half of the year and believes an overhaul of stamp duty is necessary to meet the government's target of building 300,000 new homes per annum. Berkeley specifically recommends a 1% stamp duty cap for first-time buyers and downsizers, as well as removal of the current 5% investor surcharge. The company says this would help make homes more affordable and address the cost-of-living crisis.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Berkeley, a UK-based housebuilder, is calling for urgent reform of stamp duty rules to meet the government's target of building 300,000 new homes each year. The company says that without changes to the current stamp duty regime, which was introduced when interest rates were 0.25%, it will be difficult to reach this goal and address the cost-of-living crisis by making homes more affordable. Despite receiving good levels of inquiries, Berkeley expects its pre-tax profits to skew towards the first half of the year due to customer caution in committing to purchases amid market uncertainty. The company notes that it is encouraged by the government's recognition of the importance of homebuilding and their ambition to build 1.5 million homes by 2029, but believes reforming stamp duty rules is necessary to drive high levels of housebuilding.
Written for “UK Housing Crisis Relief Efforts” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.65, but 2 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 8055: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-11
Berkeley calls for ‘urgent’ stamp duty reform to meet housebuilding targets
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Berkeley → call → targets
The FTSE 250 company said “urgent reform” was needed to help meet the Government’s target of building 300,000 new homes each year.
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reform → say → homes
The group said it was nevertheless “receiving good and stable levels of inquiries”.
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it → say → inquiries
But it added that uncertainty and volatility in the UK housing market meant that customers without an immediate need to move or readily available funds were “more cautious to commit” to house purchases.
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customers → add → purchases
As a result, Berkeley indicated that it expected pre-tax profits to be weighed towards the first half of the current financial year.
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profits → indicate → year
It highlighted that was “encouraged” by the Government’s recognition of the importance of homebuilding, amid Government ambitions to build 1.5 million homes by 2029.
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that → highlight → 2029
However, it said an overhaul of stamp duty rules was needed to help drive high levels of housebuilding amid market pressure.
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overhaul → say → pressure
The company said: “To meet the Government’s target of 300,000 new homes per annum, and help address the cost-of-living crisis by making homes more affordable
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homes → say → crisis
, the current stamp duty regime, that was introduced at a time when interest rates were 0.25%, requires urgent reform.
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rates → introduce → reform
“What was a manageable frictional cost when interest rates were at those unique and unsustainable levels, has become a binding constraint, now that interest rates have returned to more normal levels.”
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rates → become → levels
It specifically called for 1% stamp duty cap for first-time buyers and downsizers, and removal of the current 5% investor surcharge.
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It → call → surcharge
Read More
“Collectively, this supports people buying their first home, frees up more family homes, and provides more homes for rent,” the company said.
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company → read → rent
