Example 3 on Rent with Services Archived, Now at SDLT11015

SDLT and Lease Rent That Includes Services

This archived HMRC page does not explain the SDLT rules on rent that includes service payments. Its only purpose is to say that HMRC’s worked example has moved from SDLTM11030 to SDLT11015, so you should use the newer page and check it against the legislation.

  • The page is only an archive notice and does not contain substantive guidance.
  • It says that HMRC’s “example 3” has been moved to SDLT11015.
  • It does not explain the legal treatment of rent, services, or chargeable consideration.
  • Archived pages may be incomplete or out of date, so they should not be relied on as the current HMRC view.
  • To analyse a lease properly, review the replacement HMRC guidance, the lease terms, and the legislation, because HMRC manuals are not the law.

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SDLT and rent: where to find HMRC’s example on rent that includes services

This page is about a very limited point. The HMRC material provided does not set out a substantive rule on how Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to rent that includes payments for services. Instead, it says that the archived example formerly at SDLTM11030 has been moved to SDLT11015. The practical importance is simple: if you are looking for HMRC’s worked example on rent that is inclusive of services or similar items, this page is no longer the place to rely on.

What this rule is about

In SDLT, rent under a lease can form part of the chargeable consideration. Questions sometimes arise where the rent figure also covers other things, such as services, because the tax treatment can depend on what the payment is really for. HMRC’s manuals often deal with this by using examples.

However, the source material here is not the example itself. It is only an archive notice saying that “example 3” has been moved.

What the official source says

The official source says only that the page is archived and that example 3 has moved to SDLT11015.

It does not restate the example. It does not explain the underlying legal rule. It does not give any analysis of rent, services, or chargeable consideration on this page.

What this means in practice

You should not treat this archived page as containing current guidance on the SDLT treatment of rent that is inclusive of services. Its only practical function is as a signpost to the replacement location.

If you are researching this issue, the next step is to read the material now located at SDLT11015 and consider it alongside the relevant legislation on chargeable consideration for leases.

This matters because archived manual pages can be incomplete, outdated, or stripped of the explanation that originally appeared there. Relying on an archive notice alone could leave you with no actual rule to apply.

How to analyse it

Based on this source alone, the sensible approach is:

  • Identify that this page is not substantive guidance.
  • Go to the replacement page, SDLT11015, to find the example itself.
  • Check whether the current HMRC manual text explains how to separate rent from non-rent elements, if that is the issue in your case.
  • Cross-check the manual against the legislation, because HMRC guidance is not the law.
  • Focus on what the lease requires the tenant to pay, what those payments are for, and whether they form part of chargeable consideration.

Example

Illustration: a reader finds this archived page while trying to work out whether lease payments that cover building services should be treated entirely as rent for SDLT purposes. This page does not answer that question. It only tells the reader that HMRC’s example has been moved to SDLT11015. The reader would need to consult that page, and then test the facts of the lease against the relevant statutory rules.

Why this can be difficult in practice

Archive pages can look official but contain almost no legal content. That creates a risk of assuming there is a settled HMRC position on the page when there is not. It can also be unclear whether the moved example was changed when relocated, so the current version should be checked rather than relying on an old citation.

More broadly, where lease payments cover more than pure rent, the analysis is often fact-sensitive. The answer may depend on the drafting of the lease and on the legal character of the payments, not just the labels used.

Key takeaways

  • This archived page does not contain the substantive example or rule.
  • Its only message is that example 3 has moved to SDLT11015.
  • For any real SDLT analysis, you need the replacement guidance and the underlying legislation.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Example 3 on Rent with Services Archived, Now at SDLT11015

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