About SDLT Returns

You might have heard about Paul and Nikki Bewley in the news. They bought a broken-down house in 2017, planning to fix it up and rent it out. But, oops, they got a surprise from the tax folks - they initially paid less stamp duty, thinking they wouldn't be charged extra for renting it out. Later, they were told they owed more money.

Now, here's the interesting part: There are rules about what makes a house okay to live in. According to one rule from 1967, a place needs to have basic stuff like a bathroom and a kitchen to be considered "habitable." The tax people disagreed and said the Bewleys' place would be habitable in the future.

But guess what? The judges said nope! They decided the house wasn't ready for people to live in right away. So, the Bewleys didn't have to pay the extra tax.

This decision might shake things up. It could mean that many landlords who fixed up old houses might get back some of the extra tax they paid. People are saying the tax folks might face lots of requests for refunds. Exciting, right?