Stamp duty when a fixed lease keeps going
When a fixed lease carries on
A fixed lease that continues after its end date can be treated as a longer lease for SDLT. This may create extra SDLT and a further return.
- Check the original end date
- Record continued occupation
- Check any replacement lease
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Stamp duty when a fixed lease keeps going
If your fixed lease ends but you stay on, stamp duty land tax may not treat the lease as simply finished. It can count as a longer lease instead. That may mean more SDLT and another return.
What this rule is about
Some leases have a fixed end date, yet they continue after it expires until either side ends them, sometimes because the law provides for that continuation. The SDLT rules deal with both situations.
The original SDLT calculation may have been right when the lease began, but continued occupation after the fixed term can change the SDLT result later. This is easy to miss.
What the official source says
The HMRC page is a contents page, linking to HMRC’s guidance and an example that address leases continuing after a fixed term and explain how the rule operates. HMRC guidance is not law; the legislation sets the rule.
- At first, SDLT treats the lease as ending on its original fixed end date.
- If it continues, SDLT treats it as one year longer.
- If it continues again, SDLT treats it as two years longer than the original term.
- This pattern can continue year by year.
What this means in practice
Where a lease is treated as gaining a deemed extra year, SDLT can become payable even though none was due before. It can also increase SDLT already paid. In either case, a further return may be needed.
- Where the extra year makes the transaction reportable, a return is due within 14 days after that year ends.
- If extra tax is due but that rule does not apply, a further return is due within 30 days after that year ends.
- Any tax due must be paid by the filing date.
- The calculation uses the rates from the lease’s original effective date.
How to analyse it
Start with the lease, not the label used by landlord or tenant. What matters is what the agreement says and what happened after the fixed end date.
- Find the original fixed end date.
- Check whether the lease allowed it to continue until ended.
- Record when occupation and rent payments continued.
- Check whether the lease ended during a deemed extra year.
- Check whether a replacement lease was granted.
Example
Amir has a five-year lease ending on 30 June. He remains in the property and pays rent until 31 December, when the lease ends. SDLT can treat the lease as continuing beyond 30 June, but only up to 31 December. The extra period may require the original SDLT position to be checked again.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Signing a new lease might seem to settle the matter, but special rules can still apply where it covers the same, or almost the same, property and starts during the holding-over period. It does not always end the issue.
- A new lease may take the place of the deemed extension.
- A lease written back to the old end date has separate rent rules.
- The actual end date matters if the tenant leaves part way through a deemed year.
- Keep the lease, rent records and dates of occupation together.
Key takeaways
- Staying after a fixed lease ends can change the SDLT result.
- SDLT usually extends the assumed term one year at a time.
- A new lease can change how the holding-over period is treated.
Technical analysis
For advisers, and for anyone who wants to check the law behind this page. You do not need this section to understand the guidance above.
Legislation
- FA 2003 Schedule 17A para 3 — treats fixed leases held over as longer leases
- FA 2003 Schedule 17A para 3A — deals with a replacement lease during holding over
- FA 2003 Schedule 17A para 9A — adjusts rent for a backdated replacement lease
Official guidance
The pages below are HMRC’s guidance. Guidance is not law. It sets out how HMRC reads the legislation, and it is not binding on you, on a tribunal or on a court. Where guidance and the legislation differ, the legislation wins. HMRC can also change or withdraw guidance, and it may not cover your facts.
Where this is not settled
- It can be fact-sensitive whether a new lease covers the same or substantially the same premises.
- The lease wording and the dates of continued occupation may decide whether the holding-over rule applies.
Evidence you would need
This kind of case is decided on the facts of the individual property. These are the records that usually settle it, and the ones an adviser would ask you for.
- The original signed lease and its fixed end date
- Evidence of occupation and rent payments after that date
- Any new lease, including its grant date and stated start date
- Earlier SDLT returns and calculations
Explore this with an AI
Readers often want to test their own situation. Copy the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. It hands the model the actual legislation for this page rather than letting it answer from memory, and tells it to be explicit about what is uncertain. What comes back is information, not advice – check it against the links above.
I am researching UK Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), which applies in England and Northern Ireland. MY QUESTION Stamp duty when a fixed lease keeps going [Replace this with your own situation: what you are buying, the price, the dates, who the buyer is, and what you plan to do with the property.] THE LAW THIS TURNS ON - FA 2003 Schedule 17A para 3 - treats fixed leases held over as longer leases https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/17A/paragraph/3/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 17A para 3A - deals with a replacement lease during holding over https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/17A/paragraph/3A/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 17A para 9A - adjusts rent for a backdated replacement lease https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/17A/paragraph/9A/2025-11-17 Guidance page from HMRC on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm14055 HOW I WANT YOU TO ANSWER 1. Work from the legislation above. Read it before answering. Guidance from HMRC is its view of the law, not the law, and does not bind a tribunal or a court. 2. Tell me what the rule actually requires, in plain English. 3. Tell me which facts decide the answer, and which facts would change it. 4. Tell me what evidence I would need to support the position. 5. Be explicit about anything unsettled or fact-sensitive. Do not guess. 6. Your training data has a cutoff and SDLT rates and reliefs change at fiscal events. Say so if you are not sure the law is current. POINTS ALREADY KNOWN TO BE UNCERTAIN ON THIS TOPIC - It can be fact-sensitive whether a new lease covers the same or substantially the same premises. - The lease wording and the dates of continued occupation may decide whether the holding-over rule applies. Do not give me a conclusion you cannot support from the provisions above.
Legislation links show Finance Act 2003 as it stood on 2025-11-17. The law may have changed since, and the rules that apply are those in force on the date of your transaction. The official guidance this page is based on is here.
This page was last updated on 1 September 2026
Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Stamp duty when a fixed lease keeps going
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