transfer of property ownership

filbertfox

hello
any advice please on DIY transfer of property ownership.
my son has a flat in his name with no mortgage.
He wants to gift the flat to me and my wife.
mainly so we can pay the bills and he is free to get another property
no money is involved.

I have downloaded form TR1 and AP1 from GOV.UK
it does not seem too tricky!
but I have seen on some sites that it may not count as a straight transfer and may need to be a
sale and purchase as my son will not be on the title.
so do I need a solicitor?

SDLT_Geek

I wonder if the underlying ownership is to pass or whether OP will be holding the property on trust for the son? Who receives any rent? Who gets the money if the property is sold? Is it part of OP's assets for IHT purposes etc?

G_M

For a transfer of ownership you need

TR1
AP1
ID1

No solicitor needed.

No SSDLT if no money changes hands, though you may need to complete a SDLT form for HMRC.

Of course, if the transfer is a mechanism for tax avoidance/evasion, HMRC may become interested eg if son retains Benficial Ownership (even if not the registered Title).

Ed-1

G_M wrote: »

No SSDLT if no money changes hands, though you may need to complete a SDLT form for HMRC.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/stamp-duty-land-tax-transactions-that-dont-need-a-return

You don’t need to tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about some land and property transactions which are exempt from SDLT. They include:

transactions where no money or other type of payment changes hands

Keep_pedalling

If the flat is not his primary residence, he may have a capital gains tax issue.

Tom99

filbertfox wrote: »

hello
He wants to gift the flat to me and my wife.
mainly so we can pay the bills and he is free to get another property
no money is involved.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So he gives away a flat he owns to save bills but then forks out full price for a new flat which will also come with bills.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Basically he still has the bills but no flat, at least not one he owns outright.[/FONT]

AdrianC

filbertfox wrote: »

my son has a flat in his name with no mortgage.
He wants to gift the flat to me and my wife.
mainly so we can pay the bills and he is free to get another property
no money is involved.

That's terribly generous of him to give you such a valuable present, especially since there's no legal restriction on him owning two properties at one time.

Or is it not quite that simple?

filbertfox

thanks for the replies.

to explain a bit further..
My son lives in the small flat which is near the coast and we live in land abut 160 miles away.
he wants to move and buy a house with his girlfriend.
we said dont sell we will take over and use the flat for family holidays.
he agreed to gift it to us .

I did enquire for advice from a solicitor who told me that it would have to be a 'sale and purchase'
even though no money is involved.
but looking on the GOV.UK site it does say solicitor not needed in most cases
so this will save us both some money.

Keep_pedalling

filbertfox wrote: »

thanks for the replies.

to explain a bit further..
My son lives in the small flat which is near the coast and we live in land abut 160 miles away.
he wants to move and buy a house with his girlfriend.
we said dont sell we will take over and use the flat for family holidays.
he agreed to gift it to us .

I did enquire for advice from a solicitor who told me that it would have to be a 'sale and purchase'
even though no money is involved.
but looking on the GOV.UK site it does say solicitor not needed in most cases
so this will save us both some money.

Be careful that this does not take your estate into IHT territory.

xylophone

Your son is gifting you his PPR.

Provided that this is not in any way a "gift with reservation of benefit" - that is to say, you/wife become the legal and beneficial owner(s) then as far as your son's estate is concerned, this becomes a PET.

The open market value of the flat becomes part of your estate.

Does this take you into IHT territory?

fairy_lights

filbertfox wrote: »

thanks for the replies.

to explain a bit further..
My son lives in the small flat which is near the coast and we live in land abut 160 miles away.
he wants to move and buy a house with his girlfriend.
we said dont sell we will take over and use the flat for family holidays.
he agreed to gift it to us .

What? Why would he agree to that?
Why would he give you his flat for free, instead of selling it for money? Either he's stupidly generous or there's more to this story.