Firms must be “stamp duty ready” to avoid potential bottlenecks and maintain service levels, Target Group has warned.

Target issued the warning as the UK mortgage and property markets brace for the upcoming changes to stamp duty.

The Chancellor announced in her Budget last October that new thresholds for stamp duty charges will be coming in from 1 April this year.

As first-time buyers and home movers rush to try and complete transactions before the end of March, Target said that a potential spike in activity would likely “put further pressure on firms”.

Target also suggested that “cliff-edge” deadlines and stamp duty “holidays” have previously generated a surge in demand, increasing the workloads of brokers, lenders and conveyancers, and creating operational backlogs in other parts of the chain.

The group is calling on the market to learn from these previous disruptions and ensure firms are ready to meet demand.

“Given how bloated transaction times have become, there’s every chance that those in the process or getting ready to move will have likely missed the boat,” said sales and growth lead at Target, Melanie Spencer.

“While a good broker will already be having this conversation with clients to manage expectations and make the necessary adjustments to budgets, it won’t stop buyers from trying. Firms absolutely need to prepare for a spike in activity and be ‘stamp duty ready’ before the new thresholds take effect.

“For those that remember the previous stamp duty holiday, the scars will still be very fresh. Arguably, many sectors are still recovering as workloads became unrealistic, client expectations were high, and people left the industry. To avoid something like this again, firms at every level need to be looking at their processes and their current systems to ensure they can keep pace if things escalate again.”

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