Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 section Sch 4A para 4

Eligibility for relief: alternative finance arrangements

Section Sch 4A para 4 explains how first-time buyer relief applies where the property purchase is structured through an alternative (typically Sharia-compliant) finance arrangement involving a financial institution.

• The paragraph applies where a major interest in residential land that includes a dwelling is acquired as the first transaction under an alternative finance arrangement with a financial institution.
• In alternative finance arrangements, the financial institution typically purchases the property first and then sells or leases it to the individual — but for first-time buyer relief purposes, it is the individual (not the institution) who is treated as the buyer.
• This ensures that the individual's eligibility as a first-time buyer is assessed on their own property ownership history, rather than that of the financial institution.
• Alternative finance arrangements and financial institutions are defined by reference to the alternative property finance relief provisions in Schedule 7 of the Act.