Finance Act 2009

Finance Act 2009

2009 CHAPTER 10

Introduction

Section 81: Stamp Duty Land Tax: Registered Providers of Social Housing

Summary

1. Section 81 provides for profit-making registered providers of social housing to claim the stamp duty land tax relief for acquisitions by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). It also provides for lessees of shared ownership leases and beneficiaries of shared ownership trusts provided by registered providers of social housing to benefit from special stamp duty land tax treatment.

Details of the Section

2. Subsection (3) inserts a new subsection (A1) into section 71 of Part 4 of the Finance Act (FA) 2003, to provide that a land transaction under which the purchaser is a profit-making registered provider of social housing is exempt from charge if the transaction is funded with the assistance of a public subsidy.

3. Subsection (4) amends section 71(4) of Part 4 of FA 2003 to take account of new subsection (A1).

4. Subsection (6) amends paragraph 5 of Schedule 9 to FA 2003 to provide that a registered provider of social housing that is not a housing association is a “qualifying body” in connection with a shared ownership lease if the purchase, construction or adaptation of the premises for use as a dwelling, by that body or a person connected with it, has been funded with the assistance of a grant or other financial assistance under section 19 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.

5. Subsection (7) amends paragraph 7 of Schedule 9 to FA 2003 to provide that a registered provider of social housing that is not a housing association is a “qualifying body” in connection with a shared ownership trust if the purchase, construction or adaptation of the premises for use as a dwelling, by that body or a person connected with it, has been funded with the assistance of a grant or other financial assistance under section 19 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.

6. Subsection (8) provides that the amendments made by the section have effect for transactions where the effective date is on or after the date of Royal Assent.

Background Note

7. The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 introduces a new regime of registered providers of social housing, to replace RSLs in England. These can be either non-profit (like RSLs) or profit-making bodies. Consequential provisions in the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 amend stamp duty land tax legislation in Part 4 of FA 2003, to add references to non-profit registered providers to existing references to RSLs.

8. Profit-making registered providers will be subject to the same regulatory regime, will address the same housing priorities and will be able to apply for public funding on the same basis as non-profit registered providers.

9. This section allows profit-making registered providers to claim the stamp duty land tax relief for acquisitions by RSLs. It also allows clients of these bodies who acquire a shared ownership lease, or participate in a shared ownership trust, to benefit from the favourable stamp duty land tax treatment afforded to these schemes. As these providers may also undertake commercial housing provision, the favourable treatment is only available where the acquisition or, respectively, the shared ownership scheme, is assisted by public subsidy.