In Mr D and Mrs S Hyman v HMRC [2019] UKFTT 469 (17 July 2019) the FTT found that a property which included extensive grounds was not a mixed-use property for SDLT purposes.
The Hymans had bought a property with over 3.5 acres of land. They had paid SDLT on the basis that the property was residential. Their agent had subsequently made a repayment claim on the basis that the property was a mixed-use property (so that a lower rate applied) as it included a barn a meadow and a bridleway the latter being accessible to the public.
The tribunal noted that the SDLT legislation does not define ‘garden or grounds’ so that the ordinary wide meaning of the words should be used. In the FTT’s view the expression refers to ‘land attached to or surrounding a house which is occupied with the house and is available to...
