Stamp duty and lease rent rises in the first five years
Archived source
The supplied HMRC page no longer contains its former lease-rent example. It only records Scotland’s move from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.
- Do not rely on it for a calculation.
- For England and Northern Ireland, early rent increases can affect SDLT.
- Check the original lease and variation carefully.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Stamp duty and lease rent rises in the first five years
The HMRC page called “Example 1” no longer contains an example. From April 2015, Scottish land deals moved from stamp duty land tax (SDLT) to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.
What this rule is about
A lease change can affect SDLT. In England and Northern Ireland, the law can treat an increase in rent that starts before the lease reaches its fifth year as though the parties had granted a new lease.
That sounds technical. That can change the SDLT position.
What the official source says
The supplied HMRC page is archived, and HMRC gives no rent figures, dates or worked answer. Nor does the page set out the former Example 1.
- The page says SDLT no longer applies to land transactions in Scotland from April 2015.
- For Scottish transactions, the page says Land and Buildings Transaction Tax applies instead.
- The page provides no detail about the lease variation in its title.
What this means in practice
Do not use this archive for calculations. Without rent figures, dates or a worked answer, the archive cannot show whether a particular rent change creates more SDLT or how anyone should work out any amount.
That information is absent.
- Check whether the land is in England or Northern Ireland.
- For Scottish land, do not assume SDLT applies after April 2015.
- Keep the original lease and the document that changes the rent.
How to analyse it
Start with the documents, not the label used for the change. The key issue is when the higher rent starts and why it is payable.
- Find the start date and fifth anniversary of the lease.
- Check when the higher rent takes effect.
- Check whether the original lease already required that increase.
- Check whether a specified agricultural tenancy rule applies.
Example
Suppose the parties change a lease so that extra rent starts before its fifth anniversary. The legislation normally treats that change as a new lease grant based on the added rent. But this treatment does not apply if the original lease itself required the increase. The archived HMRC page gives no figures for a calculation.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Although the title suggests a worked example, the archived page has removed it, and the missing facts may have been the part that showed why the result followed. This makes comparison difficult.
- A planned rent review and a later agreed rent change may have different results.
- Focus on the date the increase takes effect, not simply the date documents were signed.
Key takeaways
- This HMRC page is an archive notice, not a usable example.
- An early increase in lease rent can matter for SDLT.
- Check the lease terms, variation date and land location.
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 section 43 — when a lease variation counts as a land transaction
- FA 2003 section 48 — land interests within SDLT’s geographical scope
- FA 2003 Schedule 17A para 7 — certain agricultural tenancy rent changes treated as uncertain
- FA 2003 Schedule 17A para 13 — early rent increases treated as new lease grants
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 archived page gives no facts, dates, rent figures or calculation, so its original Example 1 cannot be reconstructed from the supplied material.
- The supplied statutory text is current only to 17 November 2025 and needs checking against current legislation before publication as a statement of present law.
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 any written variation
- The lease start date and the date the higher rent takes effect
- The old and new rent figures
- Whether the lease itself required the rent increase
- The location of the land
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 and lease rent rises in the first five years [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 section 43 - when a lease variation counts as a land transaction https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/43/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 48 - land interests within SDLT's geographical scope https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/48/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 17A para 7 - certain agricultural tenancy rent changes treated as uncertain https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/17A/paragraph/7/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 17A para 13 - early rent increases treated as new lease grants https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/17A/paragraph/13/2025-11-17 HMRC's guidance page on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm19018 HOW I WANT YOU TO ANSWER 1. Work from the legislation above. Read it before answering. HMRC guidance is HMRC's 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 archived page gives no facts, dates, rent figures or calculation, so its original Example 1 cannot be reconstructed from the supplied material. - The supplied statutory text is current only to 17 November 2025 and needs checking against current legislation before publication as a statement of present law. 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 and lease rent rises in the first five years
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