Kirstie Allsopp argues that stamp duty ‘doesn’t work’ and pensioners should be paid to downsize

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Allsopp also added that the UK rental market is ‘massively broken’ when chatting with Rachel Johnson

Speaking on LBC’s ‘Difficult Women’ podcast, TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp has said that the UK rental market is ‘massively broken’, with taxes such as stamp duty discouraging older people from downsizing.

The 51-year-old was chatting to British journalist Rachel Johnson, whose idea of paying older people to downsize was embraced by Allsopp, who went on to describe the UK rental market as "massively broken".

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She said: "You can fiddle around with stamp duty – it doesn’t work.There are all sorts of things that I would do with stamp duty. I think the number one thing that is a problem with stamp duty is it discourages people from making that final move.”

According to the Government website, “You usually pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on increasing portions of the property price when you buy residential property, for example a house or flat.

“SDLT only applies to properties over £250,000. The amount you pay depends on: when you bought the property, how much you paid for it, whether you’re eligible for relief or an exemption.”

Allsopp continues to say: "For older people, they say ‘ah, I’m 70 not gonna downsize because I’m not gonna spend’

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"We need to have longer leases, more secure leases, we need to stop having this incredibly combative attitude between landlords, tenants good, you just don’t have that in Germany, Italy and other places," she said.

Kirstie finally added that she believes "the two things in this country which are so cripplingly expensive are property and childcare”.

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