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The relief for first-time buyers does not apply to subsequent transactions where the purchaser, after being granted the lease, purchases further shares in the property (commonly referred to as “staircasing’�). Any staircasing transaction will not lead to the withdrawal of the relief claimed on the grant of the lease, even if the total paid for all the transactions exceeds £625,000.

Where no market value election is made, no further SDLT will be due until the purchaser increases their ownership share in the property over 80%. Here the normal rules for shared ownership, including the standard SDLT residential rates and method of calculation, apply to the transaction that takes the purchaser’s ownership share over 80% and any subsequent staircasing transactions.