When is SDLT evidence not required?

No SDLT evidence is required for the following situations where the transaction was completed on or after 12 March 2008:

• An acquisition (other than the grant, assignment or surrender of a lease) where the chargeable consideration for that acquisition (together with any linked transaction) is less than £40,000. This includes, for example, transfers of freehold land, deeds of gift and deeds of grant of easements. This covers the noting of interests as well as their substantive registration.

• The grant of a lease for 7 years or more where

  • the premium is less than £40,000 and

  • the annual rent is less than £1,000.

• The assignment or surrender of a lease where

  • the lease was originally granted for a term of 7 years or more; and

  • the consideration for the assignment or surrender, other than any rent, is less than £40,000; and

  • the rent is less than £1,000.

• The grant, assignment or surrender of a lease for a term of less than 7 years where the premium does not exceed the zero-rate threshold, i.e. £125,000 for residential properties and £150,000 for commercial properties.

• SDLT evidence is also not required for transactions exempted under Schedule 3 to the Finance Act 2003.

When is SDLT evidence required?

An SDLT5 (including submission receipts (electronic SDLT5) and third-party vendor certificates) is required for all other transactions, which are not non-major transactions.

Non-major interests

The acquisition of a chargeable interest other than a major interest in land remains notifiable only where there is chargeable consideration for which SDLT is due at a rate of 1% or more. The acquisition of an easement, for example, is an acquisition of a chargeable interest other than a major interest in land. So, if the chargeable consideration on it was at the rate of 1% or higher, the transaction would be notifiable. SDLT evidence is not required if the consideration is between £40,000 and £125,000 for residential land and between £40,000 and £150,000 for commercial land.

General

Any application being stood over by Land Registry awaiting an SDLT60 will be completed regardless of when the transaction was completed, subject to other outstanding requisitions.

Land Registry is in the process of updating its internal and external guidance. Affected Practice Guides will be updated at the earliest practical opportunity.

Further details of the SDLT Budget changes can be found on the HM Revenue & Customs website

The government today announced plans to delay the introduction of controversial home information packs (Hips) and watered down the legislation, following a last-minute challenge by critics.

In an emergency announcement in the Commons, communities secretary, Ruth Kelly, told MPs that the scheme would be delayed two months until August 1, and would initially only apply to properties with at least four bedrooms. She also said that initially sellers would only have to have commissioned a pack, rather than have a completed one, before marketing their property.

Ms Kelly said the change of heart over the plans, just days before the scheduled June 1 launch, was in response to an ongoing judicial review of the energy performance certificates in the packs, following complaints by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

She added that there would also not be enough inspectors in place to carry out the energy survey contained in the pack.

Earlier today, an initial ruling by Mr Justice Collins on the review asserted that there "was a persuasive case" that the energy performance certificate could be introduced separately from the Hip.

A vote on the Hips legislation, which was due to take place today in the House of Lords, was also expected to go against the government, with Conservative and Liberal Democrats joining forces to oppose the plans.