A stamp duty reduction for second-time home buyers meant to come into force immediately after the 2018 Budget has yet to be rolled out but the government says it will be backdated.

Announced by Finance Minister Edward Scicluna on October 9, the scheme offers a refund of up to €3,000 to families selling their home to move to a larger dwelling or for health or personal reasons. However, to be eligible the beneficiaries cannot have any other property.

In his Budget speech, the minister also pointed out that buyers with a disability would benefit from a higher reduction of up to €5,000. Furthermore, the stamp duty reduction scheme could also apply for parents who have a disabled person living with them, under certain conditions. As for timeframes, it had been announced that the measures “would come into effect on the day after this Budget speech” that, October 10, 2017.

This would apply irrespective of when the legal notice is published

More than three months down the line, however, no further announcement has been made, fuelling doubts whether the government still intended to implement the measure.

Questions were also raised by notaries who said they were not in a position to clarify queries on the new scheme being made by their clients.

Asked for an update on the matter, a Finance Ministry spokeswoman said individuals who purchased a second home and sold their first residential dwelling “after Budget date” would be eligible. She insisted this would apply “irrespective” of when the legal notice rolling out such scheme would be published.

The legal notice would be backdated to October 10, 2017, the day after the Budget for 2018 was presented to Parliament.

However, no indication was given on when it would be published.