SDLT on Multiple Property Purchases: What to Check Before You Complete

SDLT on multiple property purchases is now charged on the combined price at the residential rates, because Multiple Dwellings Relief was abolished for transactions that complete, or are substantially performed, on or after 1 June 2024 (HMRC SDLTM29901, checked 25 October 2026). Four flats bought together for £1,500,000 now carry £168,750 of tax at the higher rates. For an investor buying multiple properties stamp duty turns on how many dwellings are in the deal, whether it is linked to another purchase, and whether the buyer is a company. A buyer still asking what is SDLT multiple dwellings relief worth on a new deal will find it applies only under transitional rules, and for buying 6 or more properties SDLT has a separate non-residential rule.

The tax covers England and Northern Ireland. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, and neither is covered here.

How Multiple Dwellings Relief Worked, and Why It Ended

What is SDLT multiple dwellings relief, for a buyer reading a return filed before June 2024? It was a bulk purchase relief: where it was claimed, the rate was set by the consideration for the dwellings divided by the number of dwellings, subject to a minimum rate of 1% (HMRC SDLTM29905, checked 25 October 2026). It never applied automatically: HMRC's manual says it "will not apply automatically if not claimed", so a return without the claim paid tax on the full combined price.

The government's policy paper "Stamp Duty Land Tax: Abolition of Multiple Dwellings Relief from 1 June 2024" (published 6 March 2024) says HMRC's statistics put the cost of the relief at £700 million in 2022 to 2023. The same paper reports that an external evaluation found no strong evidence that the relief played a significant role in supporting residential investment, and that it was not cost effective against its original objectives. The paper said Schedule 6B of the Finance Act 2003, which held the relief, would be repealed in the Spring Finance Bill 2024.

The 1 June 2024 Cut-Off and Who Can Still Claim

With the multiple dwellings tax relief abolished for effective dates on or after 1 June 2024, a small group of transactions keeps it. The policy paper of 6 March 2024 and HMRC's manual at SDLTM29902 and SDLTM29903 (checked 25 October 2026) set out three routes:

• Contract exchanged on or before 6 March 2024. The relief remains available whenever completion takes place, provided the contract is not varied or assigned after that date, and the transaction does not follow the exercise of an option or a sub-sale after it.
• Substantial performance before 1 June 2024. A contract that was substantially performed before the cut-off keeps the relief.
• Linked transactions straddling the change. A claim is available only for the pre-abolition transactions, and the later ones are treated as no longer linked to them, so the first post-abolition purchase starts again with a full nil-rate band.

HMRC's manual adds a filing point that catches transitional claims: a purchaser who exchanged on or before 6 March 2024 must include the date of exchange on the return as well as the completion date, "otherwise the claim to MDR will be rejected" (SDLTM29902).

How SDLT Is Now Charged on a Multi-Dwelling Purchase

For anyone buying multiple properties stamp duty is worked out on the total consideration for the transaction, as on a single purchase. GOV.UK's "Residential property rates" page sets the standard bands, and its "Higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax" page sets the bands that replace them where the buyer will own more than one residential property worth £40,000 or more (both checked 25 October 2026):

Portion of the price	Standard residential	Higher rates	Non-residential and mixed
Up to £125,000	0%	5%	0%
£125,001 to £150,000	2%	7%	0%
£150,001 to £250,000	2%	7%	2%
£250,001 to £925,000	5%	10%	5%
£925,001 to £1.5 million	10%	15%	5%
Above £1.5 million	12%	17%	5%

An individual buying several dwellings usually lands in the higher-rates column. HMRC's manual says that where an individual buys two or more dwellings in one transaction, the whole transaction is a higher rates transaction if at least two of the dwellings each carry £40,000 or more of the price, are not subject to a lease with more than 21 years to run, and are not subsidiary to another dwelling in the purchase (SDLTM09766, checked 25 October 2026). The rules do not allow one residential transaction to mix higher and standard rates.

Whether a purchase that includes a shop or office counts as mixed use, and the refund that follows a wrong classification, is covered in Can You Claim an SDLT Refund on a Mixed-Use Property?

The Six-or-More Dwellings Rule

For buying 6 or more properties SDLT applies a different table. Section 116(7) of the Finance Act 2003 provides that where "six or more separate dwellings are the subject of a single transaction involving the transfer of a major interest in, or the grant of a lease over, them", those dwellings are treated as not being residential property (quoted in HMRC SDLTM00365, checked 25 October 2026). The purchase is then charged at the non-residential rates of 0% to £150,000, 2% to £250,000 and 5% above (GOV.UK, checked 25 October 2026).

Before 1 June 2024 a buyer could choose between this rule and Multiple Dwellings Relief. SDLTM29901 now says that where the relief is unavailable "there is no longer a choice", and GOV.UK's higher rates page confirms that a purchase of six or more properties on or after that date pays the non-residential rates, not the higher rates.

On a £1,500,000 portfolio of six flats at £250,000 each, the two tables give:

• Non-residential: 0% on £150,000 + 2% on £100,000 (£2,000) + 5% on £1,250,000 (£62,500) = £64,500
• Higher rates on the same price: £168,750, worked line by line in the example below

Each unit must be a separate dwelling and the six must be in a single transaction, so on this example a correct dwelling count is worth £104,250.

When Transactions Are Linked and Why It Matters

Calculating SDLT on linked transactions starts with section 108(1) of the Finance Act 2003: transactions are linked if they "form part of a single scheme, arrangement or series of transactions between the same vendor and purchaser or, in either case, persons connected with them" (legislation.gov.uk, checked 25 October 2026). Whether two parties are connected follows section 1122 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010, so the test can reach purchases made by people or companies other than the buyer.

HMRC's guidance to question 13 of the SDLT1 return says the buyer answers "Yes" where there is more than one transaction between the same buyer and seller, or people connected with either, forming part of one arrangement, and then enters the total consideration for all the linked transactions (GOV.UK "How to complete your SDLT1 paper return", last updated 20 February 2026). Question 14 then requires the tax to be calculated on that total and apportioned to each transaction.

Take two flats at £300,000 each, bought from one developer on separate contracts by a buyer who already owns a home. GOV.UK's own higher-rates example puts the tax on a single £300,000 purchase at £20,000, so two unlinked purchases would cost £40,000. Linked, the tax is worked on £600,000:

• 5% on the first £125,000 = £6,250
• 7% on the next £125,000 = £8,750
• 10% on the final £350,000 = £35,000
• Total SDLT = £50,000, or £25,000 apportioned to each flat

Buying Through a Company: The 17% Rate

SDLT buying through company structures adds a rate that individuals never meet. GOV.UK's "Stamp Duty Land Tax: corporate bodies" page (checked 25 October 2026) charges 17% on residential properties costing more than £500,000 bought by companies, partnerships with a corporate partner and collective investment schemes. Relief from the 17% rate is available where the property is used in a property rental business, bought by a property developer or trader, or meets one of the other listed conditions, and the buyer must meet the conditions of the relief it claims.

Below that threshold, or where a relief applies, a company still pays the higher rates. The same GOV.UK page applies a 5% surcharge to residential properties bought by companies, and HMRC's SDLT1 guidance requires a company to use property type code 04 "even if it is the only residential property owned". Where a portfolio includes commercial premises, the fixtures questions are separate from the SDLT and are covered in Capital Allowances When Buying a Commercial Property: What to Agree Before Completion.

What to Check on the Return Before You Pay

The SDLT tax return form must reach HMRC, with the tax, within 14 days of the effective date, which is usually completion but can be earlier if the contract is substantially performed, for example when most of the price is paid or the buyer takes possession (GOV.UK "Stamp Duty Land Tax online and paper returns", checked 25 October 2026). The same page says it is the buyer's responsibility to tell HMRC and pay, even though most buyers use a solicitor or conveyancer to file.

The checks below cover only the multiple-dwelling features of the return; a general review of any SDLT return is in Did Your Conveyancer Overpay Your Stamp Duty? How to Check. Using HMRC's SDLT1 guidance (last updated 20 February 2026):

• Question 1, type of property. Code 04 where the higher rates apply, including every company purchase of residential property; a six-or-more purchase treated as non-residential should not carry a residential code.
• Question 6, date of contract. Essential for a transitional Multiple Dwellings Relief claim.
• Question 9, relief. Code 33 (Multiple dwellings relief) only belongs on a transitional claim; code 35 is relief from the 17% rate.
• Question 13, linked transactions. "Yes" and the total linked consideration where section 108 applies.
• Additional properties. An SDLT3 for each property beyond the first, and an SDLT4 where the buyer is a company.

A return found to be wrong can be amended by the purchaser, but not more than 12 months after the filing date (Finance Act 2003 Sch 10 para 6(3), legislation.gov.uk, checked 25 October 2026). An amendment that produces a repayment must be sent with the contract and any transfer instrument (Sch 10 para 6(2A)). The amendment and refund process is set out in How to Reclaim Overpaid Stamp Duty Land Tax From HMRC.

Worked Example: Four Flats in One Transaction

Take stamp duty on multiple dwellings for an individual who already owns a home and buys four flats in one block for £1,500,000 in one transaction, £375,000 each, completing in October 2026. Each flat carries more than £40,000 of the price and none is subsidiary to another, so the higher rates apply (SDLTM09766). Using the GOV.UK higher rates checked on 25 October 2026:

• 5% on the first £125,000 = £6,250
• 7% on the next £125,000 = £8,750
• 10% on the next £675,000 = £67,500
• 15% on the final £575,000 = £86,250
• Total SDLT = £168,750

For comparison only, the Multiple Dwellings Relief method applied to the same price at today's higher rates would tax the mean of £375,000 per flat:

• 5% on £125,000 = £6,250
• 7% on £125,000 = £8,750
• 10% on £125,000 = £12,500
• Tax per flat = £27,500, multiplied by four = £110,000

That figure is above the 1% minimum (£15,000), so the abolition adds £168,750 less £110,000 = £58,750 to this purchase. Had the buyer bought six flats at £250,000 each for the same total, the non-residential rates would have charged £64,500.

Running the Numbers: HMRC's Calculator and Its Limits

A multiple dwelling tax relief calculator built before 1 June 2024 still applies the mean-price method, which is wrong for a purchase completing after that date unless a transitional route applies. HMRC's own SDLT calculator at tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax works out SDLT on multiple property purchases "for most transactions", covering additional property and residential or non-residential purchases (checked 25 October 2026).

The calculator takes the property type and price it is given, and cannot tell whether six units are separate dwellings or two purchases are linked. Its start page sends users to GOV.UK guidance where they think a relief may apply, and notes different rules for a corporate body buying residential property for more than £500,000. A result that matches the return proves the arithmetic, not the classification.

Checklist: What to Verify Before You Complete

Check	What to confirm	Source
Dwelling count	Each unit is a separate dwelling; six or more in one transaction moves the deal to non-residential rates	FA 2003 s116(7); SDLTM00365
Linked status	Any other purchase from the same seller or a connected person is declared and the tax worked on the total	FA 2003 s108; SDLT1 questions 13 and 14
Property type code	04 for higher rates and all company residential purchases	SDLT1 question 1
Relief claimed	Code 33 only for a transitional claim with the contract date entered; code 35 for relief from the 17% rate	SDLT1 question 9; SDLTM29902
Consideration	The total price for the transaction, matching the contract	SDLT1 question 10

Conclusion and the Company Eligibility Check

SDLT on multiple property purchases is one of several taxes where the amount paid depends on a classification a buyer can check, and a business tax relief check shows where else the company may be owed money. How that check matches public data to a company is explained in How an Online Eligibility Check Works Out What Your Company Can Claim. Run the company eligibility check before the 12-month amendment window on the most recent purchase closes.