Land and Buildings Transaction Tax: review

Appendix 3: Survey methodology and summary of survey respondents

Survey methodology

We designed and distributed three short surveys to explore awareness and experiences of LBTT and related reliefs among individual investors, recent first-time buyers, and prospective first-time buyers. Each survey was tailored to its respective group and conducted through the online recruitment platform Prolific. The primarily quantitative questionnaires took fewer than eight minutes to complete.

Individual investors were defined as those owning between one and four rental properties. Their survey focused on portfolio characteristics and their understanding and use of the mixed property rule and MDR. Recent first-time buyers were those who had purchased their first home within the past five years. Their questions examined familiarity with LBTT and experience with the first-time buyer relief. Prospective first-time buyers were defined as individuals planning to buy their first home within the next five years. Their survey assessed knowledge of LBTT and awareness of available reliefs.

Summary of survey respondents

Below, we summarise the respondents’ demographic and background information for each of the three surveys.

Individual investors

This survey received a total of 92 responses:

• Number, type and price of rental properties owned . Nearly 3/4 (74%) of this group reported owning one rental property, while 15% stated that they owned two. The remaining 11% of the sample owned between three and four rental properties. The vast majority of respondents (96%) reported owning a purely residential property, with only 4% of the sample owning a purely non-residential property or a mixed residential and non-residential property. Furthermore, out of the residential properties owned, 42% were purchased for under £145,000, more than 1/4 (26%) were purchased for between £145,001 and £175,000 and nearly 1/5 (19%) for between £175,001 and £250,000. The remainder of properties (13%) were purchased for more than £250,001.
• Residency in Scotland. The largest proportion of the sample (36%) reported living in Glasgow and Strathclyde. This was followed by Edinburgh and Lothians (23%), Tayside, Central and Fife (22%), as well as Aberdeen and North East (13%). A smaller proportion of the sample were currently resident in the Highland and Islands (4%) and Scotland South (2%).
• Gender . The majority of the sample were female (54%) compared to male (43%), with the remainder of the sample choosing not to answer this question.
• Age. The largest proportion of the sample was aged between 30 and 39 (35%), which was followed by 40 to 49 (26%), 50 to 59 (20%), 18 to 29 (9%), and 60 to 69 (7%). The small remainder of the respondents were aged between 70 and 79 or chose not to answer the question.
• Ethnicity. The large majority (84%) of respondents were White, with the next largest proportion of the sample reported being of Black, Black British, Caribbean, or African ethnicity (8%). The remainder of the sample was split between Asian or Asian British, Mixed or multiple ethnic groups, other ethnic groups, or choosing not to answer the question.
• Employment status. Most of the sample reported being in full-time work (67%), followed by being in part-time work (11%) and being self-employed (9%). The small remainder of the sample were split between being retired, looking after the home or family, long-term sick or disabled, unemployed, or choosing not to answer the question.

Household income. The largest proportion of respondents reported having a household income of between £80,000 and £99,999 (23%), which was followed by £100,000 or more (22%), £40,000 to £59,999 (18%), £20,000 to £39,999 (17%), and £20,000 to £39,999. The small remainder of respondents reported earning under £20,000 or chose not to answer the question.

Recent first-time buyers

This survey received a total of 131 responses:

• Purchase price of home. Nearly three in ten respondents (29%) reported purchasing their home for between £175,001 and £250,000, while just under 1/4 (24%) purchased their home for between £250,001 and £325,000. A further fifth (21%) purchased their home for between £145,001 and £175,000, while 18% bought their properties for under £145,000. The remainder (8%) of the sample reported purchasing their home for between £325,001 and £750,000.
• Residency in Scotland. The largest proportion of the sample (44%) reported living in Glasgow and Strathclyde. This was followed by Edinburgh and Lothians (22%), Tayside, Central, and Fife (19%), and Aberdeen and North East (10%). A smaller proportion of the sample resided in Highland and Islands and South Scotland.
• Age. The largest proportion of the sample was aged between 30 and 39 (53%), followed by 18 to 29 (29%), and 40 to 49 (13%). A smaller proportion of respondents were aged between 50 and 59 and 60 and 69. No respondents reported being aged 70 or older.
• Gender. The majority of respondents were female (62%), compared to male (37%), with the remainder of the sample choosing not to state their gender.
• Ethnicity. The large majority of respondents were White (89%), with the next largest proportion identifying as Asian or Asian British (7%). The remainder of the sample identified as Black, Black British, Caribbean or African, Mixed or multiple ethnic groups, or chose not to answer the question (1%).
• Household income. The largest proportion of respondents reported having a household income of between £20,000 and £39,999 (27%) and £40,000 to £59,999 (26%). This was followed by £60,000 to £79,999 (20%) and £80,000 to £99,999 (14%). A small remainder reported incomes of £100,000 to £119,999, under £20,000, and higher brackets (£120,000 or more), representing 1% each. A small proportion also chose not to state their income.

Prospective first-time buyers

This survey received a total of 82 responses:

• House price. Three in ten respondents (30%) reported purchasing or intending to purchase a home for between £175,001 and £250,000, while just over 1/4 (26%) reported house prices at both under £145,000 and between £145,001 and £175,000, respectively. The remainder of the sample reported house prices between £250,001 and £325,000 (15%) or between £325,001 and £750,000.
• Residency in Scotland. The largest proportion of the sample (40%) reported living in Glasgow and Strathclyde. This was followed by Edinburgh and Lothians (29%), Tayside, Central, and Fife (15%), and Scotland South (7%). Smaller proportions reported living in Aberdeen, North East, Highland, and the Islands.
• Age. The largest proportion of the sample was aged 18 to 29 (48%), followed by those aged 30 to 39 (30%) and 40 to 49 (13%). Smaller proportions were aged 50 to 59 and 60 to 69. No respondents reported being aged 70 or older.
• Gender. The majority of respondents were female (68%), compared to male (32%) with no respondents choosing not to state their gender.
• Ethnicity. The large majority of the sample were White (85%), with the next largest group identifying as Black, Black British, Caribbean, or African (9%). The remainder identified as Asian or Asian British, other ethnic groups, or Mixed or multiple ethnic groups.
• Employment status. Most of the sample reported being in full-time paid work (66%), followed by part-time paid work (13%), and self-employment (9%). The remainder were split between being students, unemployed, and looking for work, looking after the home or family, or being long-term sick or disabled.
• Household income. The largest proportion of respondents reported a household income of between £20,000 and £39,999 (37%), followed by £40,000 to £59,999 (28%), £60,000 to £79,999 (13%), and £80,000 to £99,999 (7%). The remainder reported incomes under £20,000, in higher income brackets (£100,000 or more), or chose not to answer.