Grant of Lease Example: SDLT Changes for Scotland from April 2015

Archived SDLT lease guidance for Scotland

This archived HMRC material is mainly a warning that SDLT stopped applying to Scottish land transactions from April 2015, when LBTT took over. For leases of Scottish property, the key first step is to check where the land is and when the transaction happened before relying on any SDLT guidance.

• A grant of a lease can be a chargeable transaction for SDLT, with possible return and payment requirements.
• The archived source does not really explain the lease notification rules; its main value is confirming the Scottish change from SDLT to LBTT.
• For Scottish land transactions from April 2015 onwards, the relevant tax is generally LBTT rather than SDLT.
• Older Scottish lease transactions may still need to be reviewed under SDLT, so the transaction date is critical.
• Using the wrong tax regime can lead to incorrect filing assumptions, so SDLT and LBTT should not be treated as interchangeable.
• Archived SDLT examples may still help with historical cases, but they should not be relied on as current guidance for Scottish leases after April 2015.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

SDLT on the grant of a lease: archived Scotland example and what it means

This page concerns an archived HMRC manual entry about notifying Stamp Duty Land Tax when a lease is granted. The source itself is very limited and mainly signals an important historical point: from April 2015, SDLT stopped applying to land transactions in Scotland, which instead became subject to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. That matters because the tax system that applies depends heavily on when the transaction took place and where the land is situated.

What this rule is about

The underlying topic is the notification of a lease grant for SDLT purposes. In SDLT, a grant of a lease can be a chargeable land transaction. Depending on the facts, there may be a requirement to file an SDLT return and account for any tax due.

However, the archived notice on this page is not really setting out the lease-notification rules themselves. Its main legal significance is territorial and historical. It tells the reader that, from April 2015, land transactions in Scotland no longer fall within SDLT. Instead, they fall within the separate Scottish tax, LBTT.

What the official source says

The official source is headed as an example relating to notification on the grant of a lease. But the substantive content now visible is only an archive notice. It states that, from April 2015, SDLT no longer applies to land transactions in Scotland and that such transactions are instead subject to LBTT.

So the clear point supported by the source is this: any SDLT example dealing with Scottish land must be treated with caution if the transaction is on or after the date when LBTT took effect.

What this means in practice

If you are looking at a lease of Scottish property, the first question is not the SDLT mechanics. The first question is whether SDLT applies at all.

For Scottish land transactions from April 2015 onwards, the answer is generally no. The relevant tax is LBTT, not SDLT. That means an archived SDLT manual example may still have historical value, but it is not the current tax regime for Scottish leases.

This matters in practice for at least three reasons.

First, using the wrong tax regime can lead to the wrong return being considered, or the wrong filing assumptions being made.

Second, lease rules are technical. Even where SDLT and LBTT deal with similar subject matter, they are not the same tax and should not be treated as interchangeable without checking the correct legislation and guidance.

Third, older transactions may still need to be analysed under SDLT if they pre-date the Scottish changeover. So the transaction date is critical.

How to analyse it

A sensible way to approach an archived SDLT example about a Scottish lease is to ask these questions:

• Where is the land situated? If it is in Scotland, the archive notice is immediately relevant.
• When did the transaction take place? The date determines whether SDLT or LBTT is the relevant regime.
• Are you looking for current law or historical treatment? An archived SDLT example may only help with older transactions.
• Is the issue really about notification of a lease grant, or are you first needing to identify the correct tax system?
• If the transaction is Scottish and post-April 2015, have you moved to the LBTT framework rather than relying on SDLT materials?

This is a threshold issue. Before analysing lease premium, rent, filing obligations, or any lease-specific tax calculation, you need to identify the correct jurisdictional regime.

Example

Illustration: a tenant takes a lease of commercial premises in Edinburgh. If the lease was granted after the Scottish change in April 2015, an archived HMRC SDLT example on lease notification is not the governing current regime. The transaction would instead need to be considered under LBTT rules.

By contrast, if the lease was granted before the Scottish change took effect, SDLT may still be the relevant historical tax, and an older HMRC SDLT example could still be relevant to understanding the filing position for that earlier period.

Why this can be difficult in practice

Archived manual pages can be misleading if read in isolation. A reader may assume that because the page concerns lease notification, it still states the operative rule for all UK leases. The archive notice shows that this is not right for Scottish land transactions from April 2015 onwards.

The difficulty is that the source provided here does not include the actual example or the detailed notification rule. It only preserves the archive warning. So it supports a narrow but important conclusion: do not rely on this SDLT page as current guidance for Scottish land transactions after the introduction of LBTT.

There can also be practical complexity around transitional or older transactions, because historical SDLT treatment may still matter for leases granted before the switch to LBTT. The source does not set out those transitional details, so they cannot safely be expanded on here.

Key takeaways

• This archived HMRC page mainly tells you that SDLT stopped applying to Scottish land transactions from April 2015.
• For Scottish leases from that point onwards, the relevant tax is generally LBTT, not SDLT.
• Before using any SDLT lease example, check the location of the land and the date of the transaction.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Grant of Lease Example: SDLT Changes for Scotland from April 2015

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