Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 section 83C

Exchange of houses

Section 83C provided a temporary stamp duty relief where an individual transferred an old house to a house builder in exchange for a new house, removing the duty that would otherwise have arisen on the transfer of the old house.

• The relief applied where an individual transferred an old house they had occupied to a house builder in consideration of receiving a new, previously unoccupied house, provided the instrument contained the required certificate.
• No stamp duty was chargeable on the transfer of the old house to the house builder, and any payment to equalise differing values had to be made wholly in cash.
• Excess land (gardens or grounds above 0.4047 hectare, or any other land) was excluded from the relief and remained chargeable to duty by reference to its value.
• A clawback, or a 125 per cent penalty for a false certificate, could arise, and the relief was confined to instruments executed between 7 May 2009 and 31 December 2010.