The deposit Angela Rayner paid for her controversial second home in Hove has been revealed. The Deputy Prime Minister has been under fire for her new seaside flat after she was found to have dodged a huge stamp duty bill. Land Registry documents now reveal that Ms Rayner took out a £650,000 mortgage with NatWest, and that she put down a £150,000 deposit on the three-bedroom apartment.
According to mortgage experts who spoke to The Sun, putting down a 25% deposit on the East Sussex home meant the Housing Minister was able to benefit from more favourable interest rates. This comes as the Conservatives have called for an independent sleaze inquiry into Ms Rayner’s tax affairs after it was discovered that she avoided paying the full £70,000 in stamp duty on the £800,000 home.
Ms Rayner removed her name from the deeds of her Greater Manchester house just weeks before splurging on a new £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex, it is understood.
This allowed Ms Rayner to dodge the £70,000 in stamp duty that the Labour minister would have had to pay, instead taking the bill down to £30,000.
In light of this, Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake wrote to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, calling for an investigation to see if the deputy PM broke ministerial rules.
He labelled 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.
As the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Ms Rayner is the minister with responsibility for election law, as well as council tax.
On Thursday, Ms Rayner’s spokesman repeatedly refused to reveal how much stamp duty she had paid on the Hove flat but denied any wrongdoing.
He said: “The Deputy Prime Minister paid the correct duty owed on the purchase, entirely properly and in line with all relevant requirements. Any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis.”
A Cabinet Office spokesman added that Ms Rayner “has followed advice on the allocation of her official residence at all times”.
