The Finance Act 2013 received Royal Assent on 17 July 2013. The Act includes significant SDLT changes including new rules affecting sub-sales and assignments of contracts, new provisions relating to tenants who hold-over after contractual expiry, a new treatment for substantially performed agreements for lease, and the abolition of the abnormal rent increase rules. Further exemptions from the 15% SDLT rate for “higher threshold interests” in residential property are also introduced.
HMRC has published guidance on the new rules affecting sub-sales and assignments of contracts, now referred to as pre-completion transactions. See Guidance on the SDLT pre-completion transactions rules on the HMRC website.