Metropolitan Commons Act 1866: Land Transaction Relief and Claim Process

SDLT exemption for grants under the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866

A very limited SDLT exemption can apply where a land transaction is carried out under, and because of, a grant made under section 32 of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866. If it applies, no SDLT is charged, but the exemption must still be claimed in the SDLT return, or by amending the return later if needed.

• The exemption comes from section 33 of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866 and only applies to transactions effected in pursuance of a section 32 grant.
• The transaction must have a direct legal link to the qualifying grant; a general connection with common land is not enough.
• The claim is not automatic in practice and should be included in the SDLT return.
• HMRC’s guidance says to use code 28, “Other reliefs”, at question 9 of the return.
• Careful checking may be needed where old legislation, historic grants, or complex title documents make it unclear whether the transaction truly falls within the rule.

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SDLT relief for grants under the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866

This page explains a very narrow Stamp Duty Land Tax relief. It applies where a land transaction is carried out because of a grant made under section 32 of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866. If the relief applies, the transaction is exempt from SDLT. The point matters because the exemption is not automatic in practice: it must be claimed in the SDLT return, or by amending that return.

What this rule is about

SDLT is usually charged on land transactions unless a specific exemption or relief applies. The source material deals with one of those specific exemptions. It covers transactions effected in pursuance of a grant under section 32 of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866.

This is a specialised rule. It is aimed at transactions connected with grants made under that historic legislation. The key issue is not simply whether land is being transferred, but whether the transaction is being carried out under, and because of, a qualifying grant under that Act.

What the official source says

The official material states that, by section 33 of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866, a land transaction is exempt from charge if it is effected in pursuance of a grant under section 32 of that Act.

The source also says that the relief must be claimed in a land transaction return, or in an amendment to the return. The return should use code 28, described as “Other reliefs”, at question 9.

What this means in practice

If your transaction falls within this rule, SDLT is not charged on it. But the exemption still needs to be claimed through the SDLT filing process. In other words, the legal exemption exists because of the legislation, but HMRC’s process expects the taxpayer to identify and claim it in the return.

That has two practical consequences.

• You should not assume that no return entry is needed just because the transaction is exempt.
• You need to be able to show that the transaction was in pursuance of a grant under section 32 of the 1866 Act, not merely connected with common land in a general sense.

The source material does not set out the detailed conditions of section 32 itself. So the practical analysis depends on the underlying legal basis for the grant and whether the land transaction is genuinely carried out under that statutory mechanism.

How to analyse it

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

• Is there a land transaction for SDLT purposes?
• Was there a grant under section 32 of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866?
• Was the transaction effected in pursuance of that grant? In other words, is the transaction being carried out because of, and under, that grant?
• Has the exemption been claimed in the SDLT return, or by amending the return if it was missed initially?
• Has code 28 been used in the relevant part of the return, as indicated by HMRC’s guidance?

The phrase “in pursuance of” is important. It suggests a direct link between the transaction and the statutory grant. A loose factual connection may not be enough. The transaction should be one that is implemented under the authority or effect of the qualifying grant.

Example

Illustration: suppose land is transferred as part of implementing a grant that was made under section 32 of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866. If that transfer is the land transaction being carried out in pursuance of the grant, section 33 can exempt it from SDLT. However, the party making the SDLT filing should still claim the relief in the return and use code 28 in the place specified by HMRC.

If, by contrast, the transaction involves land that happens to relate to a common, but the transfer is not actually effected in pursuance of a section 32 grant, this specific exemption would not be available on the basis of the source material alone.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The main difficulty is that the HMRC manual passage is very brief. It states the existence of the exemption and how to claim it, but it does not explain the underlying statutory machinery in section 32 of the 1866 Act or how broadly or narrowly “in pursuance of” should be read in marginal cases.

That means the hard part is often evidential and interpretive:

• identifying whether there really is a qualifying section 32 grant;
• working out whether the transaction is directly carried out under that grant; and
• making sure the SDLT return reflects the claim properly.

Where the statutory history is old or the title documentation is complex, establishing that link may require careful review of the original grant and the legal mechanism by which the current transaction is taking place.

Key takeaways

• A land transaction can be exempt from SDLT if it is effected in pursuance of a grant under section 32 of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866.
• The exemption is not just a background point; it should be claimed in the SDLT return or by amending the return.
• The critical question is whether the transaction is truly carried out under a qualifying section 32 grant.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Metropolitan Commons Act 1866: Land Transaction Relief and Claim Process

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