Stamp Duty -hidden dangers of owning a buy lot let

Lysimache

bowlhead99 wrote: »

At present if you simply change your main residence property by selling it and buying another within the defined timescales, you can get relief/refund from the premium extra stamp on the new main residence. That relief won't last forever.

Ah I see, it's temporary.

SDLT_Geek

If OP had a share in a property before the divorce, lived in it and has since disposed of the whole share, then the exception from the surcharge for the replacement of an only or main residence should apply.

It is not true to say that the replacement exception is temporary. It is just that for some completions by 28 November 2018 the 3 year rules do not apply.

ThePants999

OP, what happened in your divorce? Did you previously own a property that you lived in?

If, as part of divorce proceedings, you ceased to own a property that you previously owned and was your main residence, then you still qualify as replacing your main residence and the higher SDLT doesn't apply. From the guidance notes:

3.16 Condition D is that the purchased dwelling is not a replacement of the purchaser’s
only or main residence
.
3.17 There are two parts to a replacement of a purchaser’s main residence:
● there must be a disposal of a major interest in the purchaser’s or their spouse or
civil partner’s previous main residence, and
● the dwelling acquired must be intended to be occupied as the individual’s only
or main residence.

3.18 The disposal of the previous main residence does not have to be by way of
sale, although that is likely to be the case for most individuals. For example the
property may have been gifted to someone else or transferred under a court order as
part of a divorce settlement.

3.19A For purchases on or before 26 November 2018, there is a replacement of a main
residence if, at any time before the purchase, the purchaser, or their spouse or civil
partner, disposed of a major interest in another dwelling and the purchaser has not
purchased another main residence in the period between that disposal and the new
purchase. That other dwelling must have been, at some time, the only or main
residence of the purchaser.

3.24 Renting a new main residence in the time between disposal and purchase will
not prevent the purchase from being a replacement of a main residence unless the
period of the tenancy agreed is more than seven years.