SDLTM00365 | Scope: what is chargeable: land transactions: residential and non-residential property: definitions

(This page was amended on 01 October 2019)

Residential and non-residential

‘Residential property’ is defined in s116 as meaning:

‘(a) a building that is used or suitable for use as a dwelling, or is in the process of being constructed or adapted for such use, and

(b) land that is or forms part of the garden or grounds of a building within paragraph (a) (including any building or structure on such land), or

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

‘Non-residential property’ is defined by exclusion and means any property that is not within the residential property definition.

For guidance on (b) - garden or grounds please see SDLTM00440- SDLTM00480

The rules governing what is treated as residential property are varied by s116(7) which states that ‘where six or more separate dwellings are the subject of a single transaction involving the transfer of a major interest in, or the grant of a lease over, them, then… those dwellings are treated as not being residential property.’ However, this section does not apply where Multiple Dwellings Relief (see SDLTM29900) has been claimed for transactions prior to 01 June 2024.