Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether a self-contained annex to a house will be assessed separately from the entire residence for the purpose of calculating stamp duty at the point of sale; and if he will make a statement.

The Government recognises the concerns raised around the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) treatment of self-contained annexes and agrees that the new higher rates of SDLT should not apply to a purchase of a main residence.

The Government is amending the Finance Bill to exempt annexes from the higher rates of SDLT when purchased in the same transaction as a main residence. In this case, the transaction will be treated as only involving one dwelling and SDLT at the standard rates will apply. An annex will be defined via objective criteria. It must be within the grounds of the main home and worth no more than a third of the total transaction value.