Landlord refuses to pay stamp duty

Hi all,

My landlord refuses to pay stamp duty, and indicates he wants to cancel the lease.

Our contract states in the remarks section 'no stamp duty', exactly in those words. We understood that to mean that we didn't have to pay the stamp duty, and he would do it. In the case it means no stamp duty would be payed, it seems like the terms of the contract are illegal, and therefore maybe invalid?

We went through an agent, and all fees have been payed. All documents are signed, and we lived in the house for three weeks already.

What do you guys think? What should I do?

I found out I can go pay the stamp duty myself, but I assume it will have consequences for the landlord. It's quite upsetting, we thought we would be legal going through an agent.

Regards,
Florian

Hi Florian,

There is no reason why your landlord would be reluctant to pay stamp duty, other than he is not declaring income from the property to Inland Revenue.

I am not sure how legally enforceable rental agreements are when this happens. Unfortunately there are a lot of negligent / dishonest agents here.

It is quiet common (although very risky) for landlords to do this particularly, if they have subdivided flats.

If he wants you out he can make your life a misery. It's not worth the stress to stay. You need to feel comfortable in your home.
But be sure to get your deposit back and suggest if this doesn't happen you will contact the IRD. A friend of mind had to just that.

Good luck