Grant of Lease Example: SDLT Changes for Scottish Land Transactions

Archived HMRC SDLT lease example page: limited value without the missing content

This archived HMRC page is not enough on its own to explain the SDLT rules for notifying the grant of a lease. The supplied text does not include the actual “Example 4a” or the rule it was meant to show. The only clear point is that, from April 2015, SDLT stopped applying to land transactions in Scotland and LBTT applies there instead.

• The page title suggests it once gave an example about SDLT notification for a new lease, but the example itself is missing.
• Because the key text is absent, you cannot safely work out when a lease must be notified or what legal point HMRC was making.
• For Scottish land transactions from April 2015 onwards, the relevant tax is generally LBTT, not SDLT.
• For leases in England or Northern Ireland, SDLT may still apply, but this archived page does not give enough detail to decide the notification position.
• To analyse any lease properly, you need to check where the land is, when the transaction took place, and whether you are dealing with a new lease, assignment, variation, or another type of transaction.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

SDLT and leases: why this archived HMRC page on “Example 4a” is not useful on its own

This archived HMRC page is titled “SDLTM18235 – Notification: Grant of a lease: Example 4a”, but the scraped content provided contains no substantive example or rule. It only states that the page is archived and that, from April 2015, SDLT no longer applies to land transactions in Scotland, which are instead subject to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.

What this rule is about

The title suggests the original page formed part of HMRC’s SDLT manual on notification requirements for the grant of a lease. In SDLT, the grant of a lease can trigger a land transaction that may need to be notified to HMRC, depending on the statutory rules in force at the time and the facts of the transaction.

However, the material supplied here does not include the example itself, the notification rule, or any facts showing what “Example 4a” was intended to illustrate. That means the legal point cannot be reconstructed safely from this source alone.

What the official source says

The only substantive statement in the supplied source is that the page is archived and that, from April 2015, SDLT no longer applies to land transactions in Scotland. Instead, Scottish land transactions fall within LBTT.

That statement matters because SDLT is now a tax on land transactions in England and Northern Ireland, while Scotland has its own separate regime.

What this means in practice

If you are looking at a lease transaction involving Scottish land, an archived SDLT manual page is unlikely to be the right starting point for transactions from April 2015 onwards. The relevant tax is generally LBTT, not SDLT.

If you are dealing with:

• a Scottish lease before the changeover date, older SDLT material may still matter historically;
• a Scottish lease after the changeover date, you need to consider LBTT rules instead;
• a lease of land in England or Northern Ireland, SDLT may still be relevant, but this particular page does not provide enough content to explain the notification position.

The practical consequence is simple: this page, as supplied, does not tell the reader when a lease must be notified, how to calculate any chargeable consideration, or what “Example 4a” demonstrates.

How to analyse it

Because the source is incomplete, the sensible approach is to identify the transaction first and then match it to the correct tax regime.

• Where is the land located: England, Northern Ireland, or Scotland?
• When did the transaction take place?
• Is the transaction the grant of a new lease, an assignment, a variation, or something else?
• Are you trying to work out whether a return is required, or how much tax is due?
• If the land is in Scotland, are you looking at LBTT rather than SDLT?

Without the missing text from the original example, it is not possible to say what specific notification issue HMRC was illustrating.

Example

Illustration: a tenant takes a new lease of commercial premises in Edinburgh in 2018. An archived HMRC SDLT manual page about lease notification is not the governing source, because the land is in Scotland and the transaction took place after SDLT ceased to apply there. The correct regime to examine is LBTT.

Why this can be difficult in practice

Archived manual pages can be misleading if read without context. A page title may suggest a useful worked example, but if the body text is missing, the reader cannot tell:

• what facts the example assumed;
• which legislation it was applying;
• whether the rule has since changed;
• whether the point related to tax liability, return filing, or an exception from notification.

There is also a jurisdiction issue. SDLT, LBTT, and LTT are separate taxes with different legislation and administration. A rule or example from one regime should not be carried across automatically to another.

Key takeaways

• The supplied page does not contain the actual “Example 4a”, so it does not provide enough material to explain the lease notification rule itself.
• The only clear point in the source is that SDLT stopped applying to Scottish land transactions from April 2015, when LBTT took over.
• To analyse a lease properly, you need the land’s location, the transaction date, and the full underlying rule or example.

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 Scottish Land Transactions

View all HMRC SDLT Guidance Pages Here