When a lease assignment can count as a new lease for SDLT
Lease assignments and SDLT
A transfer of a lease can count as a new lease grant where the original lease received a listed SDLT relief.
- Check the original relief
- Check whether this is the first non-exempt transfer
- Check for trust arrangements and relief withdrawal
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
When a lease assignment can count as a new lease for SDLT
Stamp duty land tax can treat a transfer of an existing lease as if the seller granted a new lease. That can matter.
It matters when the original lease received tax relief.
What this rule is about
Usually, one tenant assigns their lease to another tenant. A special SDLT rule can change that result.
This rule targets leases that received an exemption when first granted but later pass to someone who cannot claim it, provided that transfer is the first assignment without the listed relief and the buyer does not simply hold the lease as a bare trustee for the old tenant.
That is the trigger.
What the official source says
Although the HMRC page supplied here is archived and says its example has moved, it gives neither an example nor an explanation of HMRC’s current view.
Legislation sets out the rule:
- The original grant of the lease must have had a listed SDLT relief.
- The assignment must be the first one that does not have that listed relief.
- The new tenant must not hold the lease only as a bare trustee for the old tenant.
- The assignment then counts as a grant by the old tenant.
What this means in practice
For SDLT, the rule treats the transfer as a lease for the time still left to run, on the terms that the new tenant holds after the transfer.
Its assignment label does not decide the result.
- Do not assume the tax result follows the label on the assignment.
- Check why the original lease was exempt.
- Check whether the buyer has that same relief.
- Keep the original lease and relief papers.
How to analyse it
Start with the original grant. Then work forward to the assignment.
Identify the relief used when the lease began, check whether legislation lists it, find the first assignment without that relief, check whether the buyer acts as a bare trustee, and work out the unexpired lease term and its terms.
Follow the sequence.
- Identify the relief used when the lease began.
- Check whether it is one listed in the legislation.
- Find the first assignment without that relief.
- Check whether the buyer acts as a bare trustee.
- Work out the unexpired lease term and its terms.
Example
Illustration: a charity receives a lease with charities relief. It later transfers the lease to an unrelated business.
If this is the first non-exempt assignment and the business is not merely a bare trustee, the rule treats the transfer as a new lease grant for the time left on the lease.
This source gives no figures for calculating the tax.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Difficulty often comes from the lease history. Someone may have withdrawn a relief before the transfer.
If that happened, this special rule may not apply.
- A later transfer is not always the first non-exempt assignment.
- Relief withdrawal can change the answer.
- A trust arrangement needs careful checking.
Key takeaways
- An exempt lease can create a special SDLT issue on transfer.
- The first non-exempt assignment is the key event.
- The archived HMRC page provides no usable example.
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 11 — when a lease assignment counts as a new grant
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
- The supplied page does not identify where the moved example can now be found.
- The effective date is not supplied, so the current statutory position must be checked for a transaction after 17 November 2025.
- Whether a relief applied, was withdrawn, or the buyer is a bare trustee depends on the documents and facts.
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 lease and the document granting relief
- The assignment document and date of assignment
- Evidence of the buyer’s capacity and any trust arrangement
- Details of any event that could have withdrawn the original relief
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 When a lease assignment can count as a new lease for SDLT [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 11 - when a lease assignment counts as a new grant https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/17A/paragraph/11/2025-11-17 Guidance page from HMRC on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm17095 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 - The supplied page does not identify where the moved example can now be found. - The effective date is not supplied, so the current statutory position must be checked for a transaction after 17 November 2025. - Whether a relief applied, was withdrawn, or the buyer is a bare trustee depends on the documents and facts. 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: When a lease assignment can count as a new lease for SDLT
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