Q&As

A tenant is proposing to take an assignment of a pre-2003 lease. On completion the lease will be varied to bring in a higher rent. Given the lease fell under the old stamp duty regime how is the increase in rent treated for SDLT purposes?

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Produced in partnership with Sean Randall of Blick Rothenberg
Published on: 01 March 2019
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In principle, the variation of a (Stamp duty) lease will be a Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) transaction. This is on the basis that the effective date of the transaction is after the implementation date for SDLT, 1 December 2003, and is not pursuant to a contract entered into before 10 July 2003, the date on which the Finance Bill 2003 received Royal Assent. That the lease to be varied was granted before the implementation date does not change this conclusion. The transitional

Sean Randall
Sean Randall

Blick Rothenberg

Sean is a partner at Blick Rothenberg. For five years, he was head of stamp taxes at KPMG UK, finalist in the 2016 Taxation Awards for Best Big Four Tax Group. He has almost 20 years' experience advising, amongst others, developers, investors, occupiers, funds and banks on stamp taxes in connection with real estate transactions, group reorganisations, corporate reconstructions, demergers and placings. He is a barrister by training, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and council member of the Stamp Taxes Practitioners Group. Since 2007 he has been the editor of Sergeant & Sims on Stamp Taxes arguably the most comprehensive, up-to-date and authoritative guide to UK stamp taxes available. He was the Tax Writer of the Year in the 2017 Taxation Awards having ''demonstrated real in-depth expertise in analysing complex legislation'. He has contributed to the development of government policy, tax authority practice and statutes on stamp taxes, and is regularly consulted by tax authorities and government departments. He speaks and writes regularly on UK stamp taxes.

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United Kingdom
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Key definition:
Completion definition
What does Completion mean?

means completion of this agreement in accordance with clause[s] [insert number of the clause(s) dealing with completion of the agreement];

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