Stamp Duty Holiday For Installers

The UK government’s ‘stamp duty holiday’ was established in July 2020 to temporarily remove the tax and re-invigorate the housing market. Prior to this, stamp duty applied to all property purchases and would range from 2% to 12% depending on the size of the property being sold and whether those purchasing were first time buyers or not. 

Stamp duty can be a significant additional fee for homeowners looking to move up or get on the property ladder. Removing this extra cost entirely helped to make the prospect of moving house more accessible. This was especially beneficial in 2020, when the housing market was paused altogether for a time, helping homeowners to get moving and the market to bounce back.

It was recently announced that the stamp duty holiday would end in June 2021 (after being extended throughout 2020 and beyond) for properties up to a value of £500,000. Up to and including September 2021, it would continue to be in place at a reduced threshold of £250,000 before returning to the original level of £125,000 from October. This means that this additional incentive for homeowners to commence and complete the house moving process will soon end. Anyone looking to sell their home will find themselves in need of important documentation - including a FENSA certificate. 

Why FENSA Matters when Buying and Selling Houses

If you’re already a FENSA Approved Installer, no doubt you understand how beneficial it is to be able to self-certify the works that you carry out and present your customers with a FENSA certificate when the job is done. This is all the proof anyone needs that replacement windows and doors were fitted in line with building regulations and registered with the local authority. 

When selling a property, there are many documents that solicitors and potential buyers will want to see. It’s completely understandable that those looking to move into a new home will want evidence that any replacement windows and doors have been installed correctly. With a FENSA certificate, this can be proven quickly and easily - so we want to make sure our Approved Installers understand just how important this is for customers new and existing. 

Your Existing Customers - How To Find Their FENSA Certificate

If you’ve installed replacement windows and/or doors for a customer at any point as a FENSA Approved Installer, you will have registered the installation with us and they will have been issued a FENSA certificate when the job was completed. Since then, it’s entirely possible that some of those customers may have lost their certificate - and they might come to you to request a replacement. 

That’s where you can let them know about the function on our website that allows anyone to search by their postcode to see the full record of all FENSA registered works that have been carried out. From here, they can request a new certificate be sent out to them, and it will be posted the next working day or received immediately via email. If your customers are requesting this as part of the house buying process, we understand that time is of the essence, so you can reassure them that they’ll have what they need as soon as possible. 

Your New Customers - How FENSA Approved Installers Can Help 

As a FENSA Approved Installer, you’ll want to let potential new customers know how important a FENSA certificate will be to them both now and in the future. Not only will you take care of registering the window and/or door replacements with local authorities, but you’ll also be able to provide them with the certification that evidences this. They may not need it now, but they most likely will in the future - particularly if or when they want to move house. 

You may want to impress upon your customers how quick and easy it will be to receive and recover their FENSA certificate when the job is done. Even if homeowners aren’t planning to start moving house before this current stamp duty holiday ends, they will still appreciate knowing just how quick and easy it can be to search for their FENSA certificate online whenever they might need it. Homeowners will no doubt be pleased to know that they will be able to save time by ordering their certificate by post or email. 

Looking to Become a FENSA Approved Installer? 

Being able to provide an easily accessible FENSA certificate when the job is done is a great incentive to join FENSA. If you would like to join the scheme and win more work, you can apply today using our online contact form. We just need to know a few details about yourself and/or your company to get started. If the stamp duty holiday returns in future, homeowners will need their FENSA certificate readily available when they look to sell their home. 

Homeowners understand that proof of compliant work, registered with the local authorities, is a real positive when looking for their next window and door installer. That’s why so many people looking for replacement windows and doors will use our online installer search. Stand out from the crowd and give customers a reason to choose you for their home improvements when you become a FENSA Approved Installer.