The Deputy Prime Minister bought her new Hove apartment with a £150,000 deposit.
The Deputy Prime Minister bought an £800k second home earlier this year. (Image: Getty)
Angela Rayner paid for the deposit of her plush new seaside pad by disposing of her financial stake in her constituency home, receiving £162,500. While the housing minister’s name remains on the deeds of the property in Ashton-under-Lyne, she no longer has a monetary share in the home. This allowed for the Deputy Prime Minister to avoid the full £70,000 in stamp duty when buying her new apartment in Hove, instead paying just £30,000, it’s been reported.
Ms Rayner, 45, bought her new home with a £150,000 deposit which means she took out a mortgage of £650,000, The Telegraph reports. Documents lodged with the Land Registry, seen by the newspaper, now show that the Deputy Prime Minister sold her 25% stake in the Greater Manchester house she shared with her ex-husband, for £162,500.
Angela Rayner avoided paying the full stamp duty bill on her new home. (Image: Getty)
Due to no longer being the financial beneficiary of the home, any money received from the future sale of the house would go to Mark Rayner, who she divorced last year.
The document states: “One hundred and sixty two thousand five hundred pounds (£162,500) has been received by Angela Rayner for her 25% share of the beneficial interest in the property.”
The document does not state who Ms Rayner received the money from.
The sale of Ms Rayner’s stake was signed on Jan 31 before being sent to the Land Registry in March. The housing minister then purchased her new Hove flat on May 1.
However, her name remains on the deeds for the Ashton property along with Mr Rayner, a lawyer who she shares two children with.
Ms has continuously denied wrongdoing – her spokesman said: “The Deputy Prime Minister paid the relevant duty owing on the purchase of the Hove property in line with relevant requirements and entirely properly. Any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis.”
Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake has written to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, calling for an investigation to see if the Deputy Prime Minster broke ministerial rules.
The MP for Thirsk and Malton described Ms Rayner’s tax move as “hypocritical tax avoidance, by a minister who supports higher taxes on family homes, high-value homes and second homes”.
While the arrangements are entirely legal, which Mr Hollinrake admitted, they have sparked questions over her “contradictory” statements about her residency.
