Henderson Acquisitions Ltd v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 31 August 2023
Neutral citation: [2023] UKFTT 739 (TC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
Short overview
This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this short overview: high
Henderson Acquisitions Ltd appealed HMRC’s refusal to refund higher-rate SDLT paid on a 2016 purchase, arguing the property was not suitable for use as a dwelling due to need for extensive renovation. The Tribunal found the property had facilities for washing, cooking and sleeping and was structurally sound at completion, so it was suitable for use as a dwelling and the appeal was dismissed. The required repairs (joist replacement, rewiring, heating, plastering, new kitchens/bathrooms) did not amount to demolition or such fundamental defect as to render the building non‑residential. No refund of £12,350 was allowed.
Ratio decidendi
This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.
AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: high
A building that retains facilities for washing, cooking and sleeping and is structurally sound remains “suitable for use as a dwelling” for SDLT purposes even if it requires repair or renovation; only where a building is so structurally unsound, contaminated, or otherwise defective that repair/renovation is effectively precluded (i.e. demolition or equivalent) will it cease to be suitable as a dwelling.
Obiter dicta
This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.
AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium
The judgment suggests that “suitable for use” should be construed with reference to the SDLT statutory purpose of taxing residential transactions at higher rates, and that readiness for immediate occupation is not required—disrepair curable by renovation does not of itself make a property non‑residential.