Both the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association and the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries have raised concerns over the stamp duty holiday deadline, saying that it could lead to a “widespread collapse in property chains.”

They say that the home buying market is reaching a “critical stage” and that it is likely that, within an already congested market, many cases in the pipeline will not complete before the 31 March deadline through no fault on the buyers’ part.

Imla and Ami have warned the treasury that a hard deadline could force buyers to withdraw, prompting a collapse in property chains.

Imla executive director Kate Davies says that instead of a hard deadline, the government could instead impose a taper.

The bodies add that the market has processed record levels of applications while dealing with the effects of Covid-19. Conveyancers, too, are dealing with record business volumes.

Davis adds: “Lenders, intermediaries and conveyancers will be as upfront as possible with borrowers and manage their expectations, but it is also vital that borrowers plan ahead and ensure they have the necessary funds in place.

“We are asking all our members to work to increase post offer operational support, and our broker and conveyancer partners to assess their new business pipelines.  This will ensure as many complete before any deadline.”

Ami chief executive Robert Sinclair adds: “As the main contact point for the consumer at the sharp end of this, brokers will work hard to keep the consumer informed and warn them of the potential risks they face.

“We are calling on lenders to ensure that their conveyancer partners have capacity to deal with the pipeline in front of them. I would like all lenders, brokers and conveyancers to assess their pipelines and operational capacity between now and the end of March and give a realistic assessment to their customers of the likely outcomes.

“By working together now we can minimise disappointment.  However, I firmly believe with what is already in the legal process, government needs to stand ready to extend the deadline to avoid there being thousands of frustrated and disappointed taxpayers.”