Example of Successive Linked Leases and Tax Changes in Scotland

Archived SDLT guidance on successive linked leases

This archived HMRC material only identifies the topic of successive linked leases under SDLT and does not include the actual example or full rule. Its main value is as a warning to check which tax applies, when the transaction took place, and whether multiple leases should be considered together rather than separately.

• The page is about leases that may be linked because they are granted one after another as part of the same arrangement.
• The source is incomplete, so it should not be relied on as a full statement of the law or HMRC practice.
• For Scottish land transactions from April 2015 onwards, SDLT does not apply and LBTT applies instead.
• For SDLT cases, the key issue is whether successive leases should be treated together, which may affect the tax calculation and reporting.
• A proper analysis should check the location of the land, the transaction date, the parties involved, and whether the leases form part of a single scheme.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

Linked leases in succession: what this archived SDLT example is about

This page concerns an older SDLT rule about leases that are linked and granted successively. The source itself is very limited. It identifies the topic, but does not set out the example or the detailed rule on the page provided. It also notes that, from April 2015, SDLT no longer applies to land transactions in Scotland, which are instead subject to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.

What this rule is about

The heading suggests the page sits within HMRC material on linked leases, specifically where leases are granted one after another rather than at the same time. In SDLT, whether transactions are linked can matter because linked transactions may be considered together when working out the tax treatment. Where leases are involved, the timing and relationship between the leases can therefore affect the SDLT analysis.

The word “successive” usually points to leases that follow each other in time. In practice, that raises questions such as whether a later lease is connected to an earlier one, whether they form part of a single arrangement, and whether they should be treated together for SDLT purposes.

What the official source says

The supplied source gives only three substantive points:

• the topic is “Miscellaneous provisions: Linked leases: Successive: Example”;
• the page is archived; and
• from April 2015, SDLT no longer applies to land transactions in Scotland, because those transactions fall within LBTT instead.

On the material provided, the source does not include the actual example or the operative explanation of how HMRC applied the rule.

What this means in practice

The practical point is mainly about scope and caution.

First, if the transaction is in Scotland and took place from April 2015 onwards, this SDLT material is not the operative tax regime. The relevant tax is LBTT, not SDLT.

Second, because the page is archived and the substantive example is missing from the extract, it should not be treated as a complete statement of the law. At most, it tells you that HMRC had guidance on successive linked leases within the SDLT framework.

Third, if you are analysing a lease transaction in England or Northern Ireland, or an older Scottish transaction from before LBTT applied, the key practical issue is likely to be whether more than one lease should be examined together rather than separately. That can affect the tax calculation and the reporting position.

How to analyse it

Given the limited source text, a sensible analysis would start with these questions:

• Which tax applies: SDLT, LBTT, or LTT?
• Where is the land situated?
• When did the transaction take place?
• Are there multiple leases involving the same property, substantially the same parties, or a connected arrangement?
• Were the leases granted successively, so that one follows another?
• Is there anything in the wider transaction documents suggesting the leases are part of a single scheme or arrangement?

If the transaction is in Scotland from April 2015 onwards, the archived SDLT page is mainly of historical interest. The analysis must be carried out under LBTT rules instead.

If the transaction falls within SDLT, the missing example means you would need the underlying legislation and any fuller HMRC material to see exactly how linked successive leases were intended to be treated.

Example

Illustration: a tenant takes a short lease of premises and, under arrangements already contemplated between the parties, later takes a further lease of the same premises. The question may be whether those leases stand alone or should be treated as linked successive transactions for SDLT purposes. The supplied source does not give the answer to that example, but it shows that HMRC regarded this as a distinct issue within its SDLT guidance.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The difficulty here is not just the underlying tax question. It is also the incompleteness of the source.

The heading indicates an example about successive linked leases, but the actual example is not present. That means the page, as supplied, does not reveal:

• the factual pattern HMRC had in mind;
• the legal reasoning applied;
• whether the point turned on legislation, HMRC interpretation, or a specific factual assumption; or
• the practical tax consequence of treating the leases as linked.

There is also a jurisdiction issue. Archived SDLT material can be misleading if used for Scottish land transactions after LBTT replaced SDLT in Scotland. A reader must therefore separate historical SDLT guidance from the tax regime that actually applies to the land and date in question.

Key takeaways

• The supplied page identifies a topic about successive linked leases under SDLT, but does not contain the substantive example.
• For Scottish land transactions from April 2015 onwards, SDLT is not the relevant tax; LBTT applies instead.
• Where more than one lease is granted in succession, the key issue is often whether the leases should be analysed together rather than separately, but the full legal treatment cannot be derived from this extract alone.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Example of Successive Linked Leases and Tax Changes in Scotland

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