Stamp Duty Land Tax ("SDLT") is a transfer tax charged when acquiring interests in land in England and Northern Ireland. Similar taxes exist in Scotland and Wales. SDLT is changed both on the premium you pay for a property and/or the rent paid under lease. 

With significant nil rate bands in place residential SDLT is often only thought of as something one pays on the purchase price when buying a home, but there can be a few situations where SDLT is payable on rental consideration for residential transactions as well:

• Where the purchaser is UK non-resident for SDLT purposes the 2% non-resident surcharge will apply to rent as well as to premiums (unlike the 3% additional property surcharge that only applies to premiums). This means any level of rent will be taxable (as long as it accompanies a premium over £40,000 to "activate" the non-resident surcharge). It is easy to forget to check for SDLT on the rent in these circumstances as conveyancers will be used to just looking at premium values for SDLT.
• Where the level of rent is so high that it triggers SDLT itself. Most residential tenancies are for rents significantly below the SDLT threshold. However, very high value residential property in London can and is being let at a level that triggers the need to file an SDLT return and pay SDLT on the rental values.

Failing to fully pay SDLT, or submit a return when required, can lead to penalties and interest. Keep SDLT in mind if the transaction is one where the purchaser (or one of the purchasers) may trigger the non-resident surcharge and when dealing with high value residential property double check that rental values don't trigger SDLT!