Since multiple dwellings relief was abolished for purchases completing on or after 1 June 2024, buying two or more dwellings in one transaction, or in linked transactions, is taxed on the total price rather than the average price per dwelling. Individuals buying two or more dwellings usually pay the higher residential rates, companies pay them on every dwelling, and a single transaction of six or more dwellings is taxed at the non residential rates instead.

What did multiple dwellings relief do, and when did it end?

Multiple dwellings relief (MDR), in Schedule 6B to the Finance Act 2003, let a buyer of two or more dwellings work out the tax on the average price per dwelling and multiply it back up, with a minimum charge of 1% of the price. Because Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is charged in slices, averaging kept most of the price in the lower bands. HMRC estimated that the relief cost £700 million in 2022 to 2023, and an external evaluation found no strong evidence that it supported investment in rented housing.

The relief was abolished for transactions with an effective date on or after 1 June 2024. Two transitional rules protect older deals:

  • contracts exchanged on or before 6 March 2024 keep MDR whenever they complete, provided the contract is not varied after that date
  • contracts substantially performed before 1 June 2024 also keep it

Varying a protected contract, for example to add a plot or change the price, loses the protection. Anything completing now without that protection is taxed under the normal rules below.

How is SDLT now worked out on several dwellings bought together?

The starting point is section 55 of the Finance Act 2003. The rates apply to the total chargeable consideration for the transaction, not to each dwelling separately. Where the purchase is split across several contracts that are linked, section 55(1C) adds the consideration for all the linked transactions together to find the rate, then gives each transaction its proportionate share of the tax.

Section 108 defines linked transactions as those forming part of a single scheme, arrangement or series between the same seller and buyer, or persons connected with them. Buying four flats from one developer under four contracts on the same day is a typical example. Splitting a purchase into separate contracts does not reduce the rate if the deals are linked.

For 2026 to 2027 the standard residential slices, in force since 1 April 2025, are 0% up to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5 million and 12% above that. The higher rates add 5 percentage points to each slice: 5%, 7%, 10%, 15% and 17%.

Will an individual buyer pay the higher rates?

Often yes, even if the buyer owns nothing else. Paragraph 5 of Schedule 4ZA makes a purchase of two or more dwellings by an individual a higher rates transaction if at least two of the dwellings each meet three conditions:

  1. Condition A: at least £40,000 of the price is attributable to the dwelling on a just and reasonable basis.
  2. Condition B: the dwelling is not subject to a lease with more than 21 years left to run.
  3. Condition C: the dwelling is not subsidiary to another dwelling bought in the same transaction.

A dwelling is subsidiary if it is in the same building or grounds as another purchased dwelling, and that other dwelling accounts for at least two thirds of the combined price. HMRC’s manual at SDLTM09766 gives the example of a town house bought for £1 million with a basement flat apportioned £250,000: the flat is subsidiary, so paragraph 5 does not apply. A house with a coach house apportioned £350,000 of a £1 million price is different, because neither is subsidiary and both meet the conditions.

If only one dwelling meets all three conditions, paragraph 6 still applies the higher rates where the buyer owns another dwelling worth £40,000 or more at the end of the day of purchase and the new dwelling is not replacing their main residence. HMRC also points out that a transaction cannot be part higher rates and part standard rates. It is one or the other.

Illustration only. A buyer who owns no other property buys two flats from the same seller for £200,000 each in one transaction. Both flats meet conditions A to C, so the higher rates apply to the £400,000 total: £6,250 on the first £125,000, £8,750 on the next £125,000 and £15,000 on the final £150,000, a total of £30,000. Under MDR the same purchase would have been taxed on the £200,000 average.

What happens when six or more dwellings are bought in one transaction?

Section 116(7) of the Finance Act 2003 treats six or more separate dwellings bought in a single transaction as non residential property. Before June 2024 the buyer could choose between this and MDR. GOV.UK confirms that purchases of six or more dwellings on or after 1 June 2024 are taxed at the non residential rates, and the higher residential rates do not apply.

The non residential slices for 2026 to 2027 are 0% up to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above £250,000.

Illustration only. An investor buys six flats in one block for £1.2 million in a single contract. At the non residential rates the tax is £2,000 on the slice from £150,001 to £250,000 plus £47,500 on the remaining £950,000, a total of £49,500. Had the same price been taxed at the higher residential rates, the bill would have been £123,750.

The rule is written by reference to a single transaction, so check how the contracts are structured before relying on it. Each unit must also genuinely be a separate dwelling.

How are companies treated when buying several dwellings?

A buyer that is not an individual pays the higher rates under paragraph 7 of Schedule 4ZA if at least one dwelling meets conditions A and B. There is no “first home” exception for a company. Separately, Schedule 4A charges a flat 17% on any single dwelling with more than £500,000 of the price attributed to it, bought by a company, a partnership with a corporate partner or a collective investment scheme, unless a relief applies. Where a transaction mixes dwellings above and below £500,000, paragraph 2(3) of Schedule 4A splits it into two transactions. See the 17% rate for companies for the reliefs, and incorporating a property portfolio for moving existing lets into a company.

What about annexes and mixed purchases?

Whether a house with an annexe counts as one dwelling or two depends on the facts. HMRC’s guidance at SDLTM00410 says a unit must be sufficiently self contained and independent to be a dwelling on its own, and that evidence is needed. Without it, HMRC may treat the property as a single dwelling. That cuts both ways: it can take a purchase out of the higher rates, or put a claimed six dwelling purchase back into the residential rates.

Where the property bought includes something that is not residential, such as a shop below flats, section 55 uses the non residential table for the whole purchase, and GOV.UK confirms the higher rates do not apply to mixed property. The non residential part must be genuine and properly apportioned.

What mistakes do buyers make?

  • Claiming MDR (relief code 33) on a transaction completing after 31 May 2024 without the transitional protection.
  • Assuming separate contracts with the same seller are taxed separately when they are linked under section 108.
  • Forgetting that an individual buying two dwellings at once can pay the higher rates even with no other property.
  • Treating an annexe as a separate dwelling without evidence that it is independent.
  • Ignoring the 2% surcharge for buyers who are not UK resident, which sits on top of the residential rates.

The return and the tax are due within 14 days of completion. The basic rate tables and filing rules are in Stamp Duty Land Tax explained, and where the seller is connected to the buyer see connected persons for tax.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.