Relief for Land Transactions Under Inclosure Act 1845: Claim Process Explained

SDLT relief for transactions linked to the Inclosure Act 1845

A land transaction may be exempt from Stamp Duty Land Tax if it is carried out by, or under, an agreement made, confirmed, or used under the Inclosure Act 1845. This is a narrow relief and it is not applied automatically, so it must be claimed on the SDLT return or by amending the return.

• The relief only applies where the transaction has a direct legal link to a qualifying agreement under the Inclosure Act 1845.
• If the relief applies, no SDLT is charged on the transaction.
• The claim should be made in the SDLT return using code 28, “Other reliefs”, at question 9, or by amendment if missed originally.
• It is important to identify the relevant agreement and show that the transaction is either effected by it or carried out in pursuance of it.
• A purely historical or background connection to old inclosure arrangements is unlikely to be enough on its own.
• In practice, the main difficulties are proving the legal connection and checking the underlying documents and records.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

SDLT relief for agreements under the Inclosure Act 1845

This page explains a very specific Stamp Duty Land Tax relief. It applies where a land transaction is carried out by, or in line with, an agreement made, confirmed, or used under the Inclosure Act 1845. If the relief applies, the transaction is exempt from SDLT. The point is narrow, but it matters because the exemption is not automatic in practice: it must be claimed on the SDLT return or by amending that return.

What this rule is about

SDLT is usually charged on land transactions unless a specific exemption or relief applies. This rule deals with transactions connected to the Inclosure Act 1845. The official material refers to section 163A of that Act.

The key question is whether the transaction is sufficiently connected to an agreement under the 1845 Act. The rule is not about ordinary transfers of land generally. It is about a transaction that is effected by, or takes place in pursuance of, a qualifying agreement under that legislation.

What the official source says

The official source states that a land transaction is exempt from charge where it is effected by, or in pursuance of, an agreement made or confirmed or used under the Inclosure Act 1845.

It also states that the relief must be claimed in a land transaction return, or in an amendment to that return. The return should use code 28, described as “Other reliefs”, at question 9.

What this means in practice

If a transfer, grant, or other land transaction falls within this rule, SDLT is not charged on it. But the practical point is important: the exemption still needs to be claimed through the SDLT filing process.

That means a person dealing with the transaction should not assume that no return entry is needed simply because the transaction is exempt. The official material makes clear that the relief is claimed on the return, or by amending the return if that was not done originally.

In practice, the main issue is likely to be evidential. You would want to identify the agreement relied on and be able to show that the transaction is either:

• effected by that agreement, or
• carried out in pursuance of that agreement.

The wording suggests a direct legal link between the land transaction and the agreement under the Act. A merely historical or background connection may not be enough, although the source text does not go into detail on where that line is drawn.

How to analyse it

A sensible way to analyse the point is to ask the following questions:

• Is there an agreement made, confirmed, or used under the Inclosure Act 1845?
• What is the precise land transaction for SDLT purposes?
• Is that transaction effected by the agreement itself, or carried out in pursuance of it?
• Do the transaction documents clearly show that connection?
• Has the relief been claimed correctly in the SDLT return, using code 28 at question 9, or by amendment if necessary?

This is a narrow statutory relief, so the analysis should stay close to the wording of the rule and the documents creating the transaction.

Example

Illustration: suppose land is transferred as part of implementing an agreement that was made or confirmed under the Inclosure Act 1845. If the transfer is carried out because that agreement requires or authorises it, the transaction may fall within this exemption. If so, the SDLT return should claim the relief using code 28 at question 9.

By contrast, if land is later sold in an ordinary commercial transaction and the only link to the 1845 Act is that the land was historically affected by an old inclosure arrangement, that would not obviously satisfy the wording in the source. The relevant issue is whether the current transaction is effected by, or in pursuance of, the qualifying agreement.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The official text is brief and does not explain how close the connection must be between the transaction and the agreement under the Act. That can make classification difficult where the transaction is one step removed from the original agreement, or where the historical records are incomplete.

Another practical difficulty is documentary proof. Because this relief depends on the legal basis of the transaction, the underlying agreement and the transaction documents may need careful review. If the relief was missed on the original return, the source indicates that an amendment can be used, but it does not set out the wider amendment rules or time limits.

Key takeaways

• A land transaction can be exempt from SDLT if it is effected by, or in pursuance of, an agreement made, confirmed, or used under the Inclosure Act 1845.
• The exemption is claimed through the SDLT return process; the official source says to use code 28 at question 9.
• The critical issue is the legal connection between the transaction and the qualifying agreement under the Act.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Relief for Land Transactions Under Inclosure Act 1845: Claim Process Explained

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