Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 section 19

Treatment of fixed-term leases — ignoring break clauses and renewal options

Section 19 of Schedule 19 establishes that when calculating LBTT on a fixed-term lease, any provisions that could shorten or extend the lease term are to be disregarded.

• When applying Schedule 19 to a lease granted for a fixed term, the full fixed term is always used for LBTT calculation purposes.
• Any contingency that might cause the lease to end before the fixed term expires — such as a break clause or an insolvency event — must be ignored.
• Any right held by either the landlord or the tenant to terminate the lease early is similarly disregarded.
• Any right held by either party to renew the lease beyond the fixed term is also left out of account.