Rayner saved £40k on stamp duty by declaring the Hove flat her main home despite council tax claims

Angela Rayner is facing fresh scrutiny after it emerged she saved £40,000 in stamp duty on a newly purchased seaside flat by declaring it as her main residence.

The Deputy Prime Minister bought an £800,000 apartment in Hove, East Sussex, earlier this year. By registering the property as her primary home, she reduced her tax bill to £30,000 — rather than the £70,000 that would have applied had the flat been classed as a second home.

The Telegraph has learned that, shortly before purchasing the Hove flat, Rayner removed her name from the deeds of her house in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. That adjustment enabled her to avoid the higher rate of stamp duty introduced in 2016 for second homes and increased further last year by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

But the arrangement has sparked controversy. In Manchester, Rayner told Tameside council that her constituency property remains her main residence, while in Brighton and Hove, she registered her new flat as a second home for council tax purposes.

Although the moves are legal, critics argue they create the impression of a politician exploiting technicalities to minimise her bills.

At the weekend, sources close to Rayner insisted that her Ashton-under-Lyne house is her “primary residence” for council tax purposes. That designation allows her to avoid paying council tax on Admiralty House, the grace-and-favour apartment in Westminster she occupies as Deputy Prime Minister.

The situation has left Rayner facing questions over how she manages three different addresses: her constituency home in Greater Manchester, the flat in Hove, and the government-provided property in London. Tory MPs have accused her of “playing the system” and even suggested she may have breached electoral law in her declarations.

Rayner’s office has pushed back strongly. Her spokesman 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.”

Allies insist Rayner followed professional advice, complied with longstanding rules, and has always paid the taxes required. Sources close to her stressed she had done nothing wrong.

Nevertheless, the timing of the changes to the deeds of her Greater Manchester property is under the spotlight. Official Land Registry records show “applications are pending,” suggesting alterations to the title of the home have not yet been finalised.

The stamp duty surcharge for additional homes was brought in by David Cameron’s Conservative government to cool the housing market and deter second-home ownership. Rachel Reeves, as Labour’s Chancellor, raised the rate last year in order to increase revenue from wealthier property buyers.

The revelation that the Deputy Prime Minister has managed to avoid the higher levy is politically awkward, given Labour’s pledge to restore fairness to the tax system.

For Rayner, who has long positioned herself as a straight-talking champion of working people, the row threatens to undermine that image. Questions over her property arrangements — legal though they may be — risk handing ammunition to her political opponents and distracting from Labour’s agenda.

As one senior Tory MP put it: “This is about trust. Ordinary families don’t have multiple homes to shuffle around. People will want to know if the Deputy Prime Minister is playing by the same rules as everyone else.”

For now, Rayner maintains she has acted entirely within the law. But with the opposition seizing on the story and the Land Registry changes still pending, the controversy shows little sign of fading away.