SDLT relief for buying more than one home
Multiple homes and stamp duty
HMRC says multiple dwellings relief was abolished for transactions completing, or substantially performed, on or after 1 June 2024.
- The historic relief could cover two or more homes in one or linked deals.
- Other reliefs, long leases and special purchase rules could prevent it.
- Linked transactions may be subject to special transitional rules.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
SDLT relief for buying more than one home
HMRC abolished the SDLT relief for buying more than one home from 1 June 2024. SDLT means stamp duty land tax. If your purchase completed, or was substantially performed, on or after that date, do not assume the old relief is available.
What this rule is about
People called the old rule multiple dwellings relief. It could reduce stamp duty on a purchase involving at least two homes. It mattered because, when buyers acquired several homes in a single deal, the calculation could produce a tax result very different from the one for buying one home. One home could be taxed differently.
Timing is now the first question. HMRC’s manual says that, once a transaction completed or was substantially performed on or after 1 June 2024, the relief ended. That date matters.
Substantial performance can happen before completion. For example, it can occur when the buyer takes possession of most of the property or pays most of the price.
What the official source says
HMRC says the old relief applied where the main subject of a purchase included at least two homes. Buyers could acquire them in one deal or through linked deals. Buying other property as well did not automatically prevent relief.
- The purchase had to involve at least two homes.
- Separate but linked purchases could be considered together.
- Extra land or property did not automatically block the relief.
- Tenant collective-right purchases were excluded.
- Crofting community right-to-buy purchases were excluded.
- The relief did not apply where the special company rate rules applied.
- The relief did not apply where specified group, reconstruction, acquisition or charity relief was available or had been withdrawn.
- A long lease could also block the relief, unless an exception applied.
This is HMRC’s published view. The legislation is the law, while HMRC’s manual explains how HMRC approaches it.
What this means in practice
For a recent purchase, the key point is simple: the old relief is not a general option for buying a house with a flat, two flats, or a portfolio. The relevant date can settle the question before anyone considers the property facts.
That does not make earlier purchases straightforward. For a purchase before 1 June 2024, you may still need to check the old conditions and exclusions carefully.
- Start with the date that counts for stamp duty.
- Check whether there were two separate homes at that date.
- Check whether another purchase formed part of the same linked arrangement.
- Check whether a different relief was available instead.
- Read the lease terms where the property was leasehold.
How to analyse it
Work through the questions in order. Do not begin by counting buildings. A garage, garden, shop or field may be part of the deal, but it does not by itself answer whether there were two homes.
- When did the deal complete?
- Was it substantially performed before completion?
- Did that relevant date fall before 1 June 2024?
- Did the deal include at least two homes?
- Were there linked deals involving other homes?
- Did any exclusion apply, including the long-lease rule?
- Was another listed relief available or later withdrawn?
What actually decides whether a building was a separate home? Its real use and whether it was suitable for use as one home. What you call it in sales details is not enough.
Example
Jo agreed to buy two flats and a garage under one contract. If the deal completed on 31 May 2024, the historic relief might have been relevant. The flats, any lease terms, and the exclusions would still need checking. For the same deal completing on 1 June 2024, HMRC’s manual says the old relief had been abolished.
Why this can be difficult in practice
The boundary date can be awkward. A contract may be signed well before completion, and the buyer may have paid a large part of the price or taken possession earlier. That can change the date used for stamp duty.
Linked deals are another trap. Two contracts do not always mean two unrelated purchases. The source points to separate transitional guidance for linked transactions, so the exact facts matter.
- People often look only at completion and miss earlier substantial performance.
- People can mistake an annex, storage space or outbuilding for a separate home.
- A long lease may change the answer even where there appear to be two homes.
- Another relief may prevent use of the historic relief.
Key takeaways
- The old SDLT relief was abolished from 1 June 2024.
- For earlier deals, both timing and the property facts matter.
- Linked deals and long leases need particular care.
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 44 — when a contract is substantially performed
- FA 2003 section 58D — historic relief for transfers involving multiple homes
- FA 2003 Schedule 6B para 2 — historic relief for two or more homes; historic relief for linked home purchases; historic exclusions where other reliefs apply; long lease restriction for the historic relief; exception to the long lease restriction
- FA 2003 Schedule 6B para 7 — what counted as a home for relief
- FA 2003 section 74 — tax treatment of collective enfranchisement purchases
- FA 2003 section 75 — tax treatment of crofting community purchases
- FA 2003 Schedule 4A para 3 — higher rate for certain company home purchases
- FA 2003 Schedule 7 — group reconstruction and acquisition reliefs
- FA 2003 Schedule 8 — relief for qualifying charity purchases
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 supplied HMRC page refers readers elsewhere for the detailed transitional rules. The exact result for a contract spanning 1 June 2024 needs those rules to be checked.
- Whether a building or part of a building counted as a separate home can depend on its use, suitability and the facts at the relevant time.
- The supplied statutory material is recorded only through 17 November 2025. The current position for a transaction after that date needs an official legislation check.
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 contract, completion and any substantial-performance dates
- Details of each home and any other land or property bought
- Whether the purchases were linked
- Lease terms for each home
- Details of any group, charity or other relief claimed
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 SDLT relief for buying more than one home [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 44 - when a contract is substantially performed https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/44/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 58D - historic relief for transfers involving multiple homes https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/58D/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6B para 2 - historic relief for two or more homes https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6B/paragraph/2/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6B para 2 - historic relief for linked home purchases https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6B/paragraph/2/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6B para 2 - historic exclusions where other reliefs apply https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6B/paragraph/2/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6B para 2 - long lease restriction for the historic relief https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6B/paragraph/2/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6B para 2 - exception to the long lease restriction https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6B/paragraph/2/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6B para 7 - what counted as a home for relief https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6B/paragraph/7/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 74 - tax treatment of collective enfranchisement purchases https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/74/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 75 - tax treatment of crofting community purchases https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/75/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4A para 3 - higher rate for certain company home purchases https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4A/paragraph/3/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 7 - group reconstruction and acquisition reliefs https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/7/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 8 - relief for qualifying charity purchases https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/8/2025-11-17 HMRC's guidance page on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm29910 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 supplied HMRC page refers readers elsewhere for the detailed transitional rules. The exact result for a contract spanning 1 June 2024 needs those rules to be checked. - Whether a building or part of a building counted as a separate home can depend on its use, suitability and the facts at the relevant time. - The supplied statutory material is recorded only through 17 November 2025. The current position for a transaction after that date needs an official legislation check. 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: SDLT relief for buying more than one home
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