Guide on Claiming Relief for Municipal Airport Land Transactions Under UK Law

SDLT relief for land transfers linked to municipal airports

This is a very limited Stamp Duty Land Tax exemption for certain land transfers made as part of a statutory transfer of a municipal airport undertaking to a company under the Airports Act 1986. If the transaction fits the exact legal rules, no SDLT is due, but the relief still needs to be claimed correctly on the SDLT return.

• The relief only applies to land transactions made under, or in pursuance of, a section 15 Airports Act 1986 scheme, or under related Transport Act 1968 provisions applied to that scheme.
• It is not a general relief for airport land, airport businesses, or transactions merely connected with an airport.
• The key question is whether the land transfer is genuinely required by, or carried out under, the statutory scheme.
• If the exemption applies, HMRC says it must be claimed in the land transaction return, or by amending the return, using code 28 under “Other reliefs”.
• In doubtful cases, the legislation and the scheme documents matter more than HMRC guidance, especially where the link between the transfer and the statutory scheme is unclear.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

SDLT relief for transfers connected with municipal airports

This page explains a very specific Stamp Duty Land Tax relief. It applies to certain land transactions connected with the transfer of a municipal airport undertaking to a company under the Airports Act 1986. If the conditions are met, the transaction is exempt from SDLT, but the relief must still be claimed correctly in the land transaction return.

What this rule is about

The rule deals with historic statutory transfers of municipal airport undertakings. When a local authority airport undertaking is transferred to a company under a scheme made under section 15 of the Airports Act 1986, land may need to move as part of that restructuring. Parliament provided that certain land transactions connected with that process should not bear SDLT.

This is not a general relief for airport land or airport businesses. It is a narrow exemption for transactions that fall within the statutory framework described in the legislation.

What the official source says

The HMRC manual states that a land transaction is exempt from charge if it is:

• effected by, or in pursuance of, a scheme under section 15 of the Airports Act 1986, in connection with the transfer of a municipal airport undertaking to a company, or
• entered into in pursuance of Schedule 4 to the Transport Act 1968, as that Schedule applies to such a scheme by virtue of section 75(3) of the Airports Act 1986.

The manual also says the relief must be claimed in a land transaction return, or in an amendment to that return, using code 28 for “Other reliefs” at question 9.

What this means in practice

If a land transfer falls within one of the statutory routes described above, no SDLT is charged on that transaction. In substance, the law treats the transfer as exempt because it forms part of a specific statutory reorganisation involving a municipal airport.

The practical point is that exemption does not remove the need to deal with the SDLT filing position properly. The HMRC material says the relief must be claimed on the land transaction return, or by amending the return if this was not done originally.

So the analysis has two parts:

• first, whether the transaction is within the statutory exemption at all, and
• second, whether the return has been completed so the relief is actually claimed.

How to analyse it

A sensible way to approach this is to ask the following questions.

• Is there a scheme under section 15 of the Airports Act 1986?
• Is the scheme connected with the transfer of a municipal airport undertaking to a company?
• Was the land transaction effected directly by that scheme, or entered into in pursuance of it?
• If reliance is placed on the second limb, does the transaction arise in pursuance of Schedule 4 to the Transport Act 1968 as applied by section 75(3) of the Airports Act 1986?
• Has the SDLT return been completed to claim the relief, using the code HMRC specifies?

The key issue is the connection between the land transaction and the statutory scheme. A transaction is not exempt merely because it relates to an airport or happens around the same time as a corporate transfer. It must fall within the legislative wording.

Example

Illustration: a local authority transfers its municipal airport undertaking to a company under a section 15 scheme. As part of that scheme, airport land is transferred so that the company receives the property needed for the undertaking. If that land transfer is effected by, or in pursuance of, the statutory scheme, the HMRC material indicates that it is exempt from SDLT. The return should still claim the relief using the specified code.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The main difficulty is usually not the filing mechanics, but whether the transaction truly falls within the statutory framework.

Phrases such as “effected by” and “in pursuance of” can require careful factual analysis. A direct transfer required by the statutory scheme is more straightforward. A later or related transaction may be harder to characterise. The source material does not set out a wider test for how close the connection must be, so the answer may depend on the documents, the terms of the scheme, and the role the land transaction plays in implementing it.

Another point is that the HMRC manual is guidance, not the legislation itself. The legal basis for the exemption comes from the statutory provisions it cites. In any doubtful case, the legislation and the underlying scheme documents are likely to matter most.

Key takeaways

• This is a narrow SDLT exemption for land transactions connected with statutory transfers of municipal airport undertakings to companies.
• The transaction must fall within the specific legislative routes mentioned in the Airports Act 1986 and related Transport Act provisions.
• Even where the exemption applies, HMRC says it must be claimed on the SDLT return or by amending the return, using code 28.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Guide on Claiming Relief for Municipal Airport Land Transactions Under UK Law

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