The possible extension of the stamp duty holiday is to be debated in Parliament next week.

The move follows a parliamentary e-petition calling for the tax break to remain in place for an additional six months.

The popular petition, which has so far been signed by more than 130,000 people, was started by a home buyer concerned that his purchase could fail to meet the deadline for the temporary reprieve, which is set to end on March 31.

MPs will discuss the petition on Monday, February 1 at 4.30pm, and the debate will be available to view live on Parliament TV and YouTube.

Natasha Heron, tax manager at Hillier Hopkins, who have an office in Watford, said the property market is “facing a precipitous cliff edge” with both Help to Buy and the stamp duty holiday set to end on the same day.

She said these key events would have “a devastating impact on the residential property market, with it likely to stall at a time when it should be at its busiest.

“The stamp duty holiday has created a degree of urgency in the market, with many home buyers and sellers struggling to get their deals across the line before the end of March,” she added. “Local authority searches are taking longer as are mortgage approvals. A problem at any stage can lead to weeks of delay.

“As a result, we would expect to see in the coming weeks an increased number of deals that fall through. That is why we would urge the government to, as a minimum, extend the stamp duty holiday to those properties that have exchanged but are yet to complete, or even better, extend the holiday through to September.”