By Fiona Barnwell-Diane
Solicitor

Many people are aware of the changes that were made to the purchase of a dwelling with an annexe/subsidiary dwelling back in 2016.  The purchase of a main residence by an individual which has a subsidiary dwelling in the grounds means the additional dwelling can be ignored for the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax purposes if the main residence is at least two thirds of the total price for the properties.

However, multiple dwellings relief could still be claimed. Assuming the subsidiary dwelling(s) meets the relevant criteria then the whole transaction would be charged at normal residential rates (if replacement of a main residence) and multiple dwelling relief could be applied.  This effectively means you could have any number of annexes/subsidiary dwellings in the garden or attached to the main property, so long as the value of the main dwelling is still two thirds of the purchase price.

Stamp Duty Land Tax remains a complex area and ultimately each transaction has to be taken on its own facts but certainly multiple dwelling relief is a useful relief in certain transactions.