Refund on stamp duty - mixed-use property

ftbonmse

Hi all,

I have just purchased a house in London, and paid the full stamp duty on it. The property has an alleyway included (which I own) but which is shared with 5 other neighbors. They all have access to the alley via doors, and the alley is closed off by a locked door to the street which they all have keys to also.

They have been using this alleyway for over 20 years (at least) and they store their bins, some have machinery, etc. I do not use the alleyway.

As the alleyway is not a part of my garden or grounds, do I have a chance at applying for a mixed-use property - i.e. the alleyway is classed non-residential? Therefore I can get a refund on the stamp duty and have it capped at 5%?

Thanks very much

allconnected

nope - because it falls within the third category of residential property - 

‘an interest in or right over land that subsists for the benefit of a building within paragraph (a) or of land within paragraph (b)’

You have an interest in an alleyway which exists to provide access to houses (paragraph a) and/or gardens/grounds  (paragraph b) - so the alleyway is itself by definition residential property. You don’t have to use it yourself for this to apply.

I suppose if you could show that the only property that benefited do from the access was non-residential property you might have an argument. However, you’d have to show that the alley not only wasn’t used by you but was in fact of no actual benefit at all to your property, whoever lived in it.

So still residential I’m afraid, although there are certainly firms out there who will try to argue otherwise for you.

ftbonmse

Thank you for the reply. So for the alley to be non-residential property means the alley would have to be attached to a commercial property or similar? Would the fact that the neighbors have a (implied over 20+ years) granted easement over the alley change anything?

To be clear, the alley doesn't connect to any non-residential properties.

allconnected

it doesn’t matter what it’s attached to (a flat over a shop is residential property) - what matters is what land is for. An alleyway between houses with the only function being to enable access to a commercial business behind the houses wouldn’t be residential property - the same alleyway which provided access instead to the gardens of the houses would. 

Without this third category, a huge number of properties would fall into the ‘mixed’ category just because of, say, a right of access over a shared driveway. That’s why it’s in there,  along with the more obvious dwellings and gardens/grounds categories.