Our conveyancing solicitors explain the Stamp Duty (SDLT) rates which apply when British Expatriate (expat) buy property in the UK
SDLT: There is a 2% expat stamp duty surcharge for non-UK residents purchasing residential property in England & Northern Ireland.
In April 2021, the UK government introduced a 2% surcharge on residential property purchases by non-UK residents. This expat stamp duty surcharge applies to individuals, companies and trusts classed as non‑UK resident for SDLT purposes.
The surcharge is payable in addition to the standard residential SDLT rates and, where relevant, the 3% higher rates that apply to purchases of additional dwellings or properties acquired by companies.
The SDLT rates for residential property purchases are currently as follows:
| Relevant consideration | SDLT rate | Higher SDLT rate |
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 3% |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 2% | 5% |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% | 8% |
| £925,001 – £1,500,000 | 10% | 13% |
| £1,500,001 + | 12% | 15% |
Please note: The easiest way to calculate your stamp duty liability as an expat, is to use our non uk resident stamp duty calculator.
The 2% expat stamp duty surcharge is therefore applied on top of the 3% surcharge for purchases of additional dwellings or purchases by companies and, indeed, transactions on which the 15% rate for high-value dwellings applies. Therefore, the top rate of SDLT for non-residents could be 17%. This represents quite a significant increase in the SDLT payable on residential property transactions by non-residents.
In addition, care is therefore required for transactions involving non-resident and resident spouses. Where a non-resident spouse or civil partner of a UK resident individual buys a property with the UK resident individual, the expat stamp duty surcharge does not apply. However, it is a requirement for both individuals to purchase the property. If the non-resident spouse or civil partner purchases on their own, the surcharge will apply.
When first introduced, the draft legislation received criticism for being overly complicated (an increasingly common complaint with regard to SDLT legislation), in particular in relation to the rules to determine residence status and the rules for transactions involving non-resident and resident spouses.
Transfer of Equity – SDLT Implications
You may already own a property in England or Wales and wish to change the name of the owners on the land registry title. The reasons for transferring ownership vary, but often involve marriage or divorce. The legal process is known as a transfer of equity. It should also be noted that although equity transfers between spouses are not subject to the 3% surcharge, they are subject to the 2% surcharge where the spouse taking on the equity is non-UK resident. To read more about the SDLT implications when carrying out a transfer of equity read our blog entitled Transfer of property to your spouse.
Purchasing a property as a British Expat – Conveyancing
There are around 5 million British expats living outside of the UK, either permanently or temporarily. The impact of Brexit on the value of the pound sterling has made purchasing property in England and Wales an attractive investment for expats and foreign nationals.
This guide is for British expats and foreign nationals considering re-mortgaging or investing in property in England and Wales.
Why might you decide to purchase property in England and Wales as an expat or foreign national?
There are a number of reasons why someone living abroad might decide to purchase property in England and Wales. Some of them could be:
- Property development and renovation
- Investment opportunity to provide support when retiring
- A holiday home
- A secure home for children going to university
- Future residency – for retirement or not
- Enter the buy to let market
Whatever your reason for wanting to invest, Starck Uberoi can help. Our experienced conveyancing team, combined with our sister company Starck Uberoi Mortgages, have links to specialist expat mortgage lenders, enabling you to get the best rates possible.
If you would like an expat conveyancing quote for a property in England or Wales, you can obtain this instantly online by using our online conveyancing quote Calculator.
Is it difficult to purchase property in England and Wales as an expat or foreign national?
Although a little onerous, it is certainly not impossible to purchase property in England and Wales as an expat or foreign national. It is easier to do this if you are a cash buyer, because you don’t need to go through the hassle of finding a mortgage. However, if this isn’t an option for you, securing a mortgage with a UK bank is possible.
Starck Uberoi Solicitors & The Buying Process
The process for purchasing property after you have a mortgage in principle in place as an expat or foreign national is as follows:
1. Finding a property to purchase
If you are unsure about what particular property to invest in, Starck Uberoi can put you in touch with trusted affiliated estate agents to help with this decision.
If you already know what you’re looking to invest in, although ultimately a business decision, we can give you an initial overview of what we recommend before you make a binding offer.
Although we cannot provide tax or surveyor advice, we will happily direct you to qualified independent professionals who can answer any questions you have.
2. Start the conveyancing process
After making an offer to the developer that is then accepted, the next step is to instruct a solicitor. Starck Uberoi’s experienced conveyancing solicitors will guide you through the process.
You can read about this in our blog on the topic: Property Solicitors
Once your solicitor has completed their processes and your mortgage lender has provided a solid offer, you can exchange contracts. Now you are committed to the purchase of the property.
3. Completion
Your solicitor will manage the transfer of the funds to purchase the property. Any stamp duty owed will need to be paid to HMRC within 14 days from completion.
Video link and online case tracking and electronic signatures for overseas clients
Our London-based solicitors offer a quick and responsive approach and the distance between you and us will not create any delay, as we are set up to conduct all our work remotely. We can offer a conveyancing video link so you can talk to your dedicated solicitor on Teams or Zoom. We can offer an efficient service to clients by arranging for the signing of mortgage deeds using electronic signatures in accordance with lender consent and Land Registry practice guide 82. Matters are handled by qualified Solicitors located in our London or Canterbury offices and we can communicate in Arabic, Turkish or Persian where required with foreign national clients
We also offer all our clients a real-time online Case Tracking system, and we will assist you in downloading our app for real-time updates. This will go a long way where there is a significant time difference between the UK and the country where you live.
Read more about our brand new mobile app in our recent blog Online Conveyancing Solicitors.
Lender Panel Solicitors
Your mortgage lender will require your conveyancing solicitor to be registered on their panel. Being a 5 Partner firm accredited by the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), we are registered with almost every lender, including specialist expat and foreign national lenders. If you need to instruct a panel solicitor, we are on an array of lender panels and can assist. Please check our lender panel page for a list of the lender panels we are registered with. Some of the mortgage lender panels we are members of include: Halifax, Barclays, Santander, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Saffron Building Society, Suffolk Building Society, Family Building Society, Marsden, Kent Reliance, Tipton, Natwest International, Skipton International, HSBC, Dudley Building Society, Bath Building Society
Saffron Building Society and Irrevocable Nomination of legal representative for notices
Some expat specialist lenders, such as Saffron Building Society, require us to provide your lender with an Irrevocable Nomination for acceptance of service for any notices in relation to your mortgage contract. It is not always easy to find a solicitor to take on this ongoing obligation. We can confirm that Starck Uberoi solicitors are familiar with the procedure and regulated to accept nomination. The charges for the same are £800 plus VAT and disbursements on top of our standard conveyancing fees
Nomo Bank
Nomo is a UK-based, Sharia-compliant digital bank part of Bank of London and The Middle East plc (BLME) and are happy for Starck Uberoi Solicitors to separately represent borrowers. For expat and foreign nationals in the GCC, an important requirement is for borrowers to appoint a process agent, a UK-based individual or company, to accept service of legal proceedings in England and Wales in connection with the mortgage. While the appointment of a process agent ordinarily sits outside the legal work we are required to certify, we routinely act for borrowers and advise them on Nomo’s specific conveyancing requirements, guide them through the process, and ensure their transaction progresses smoothly and without delay. If you are purchasing or remortgaging with Nomo Bank and would like clear, practical advice, we would be pleased to assist and where required you can liaise with our in-house Arabic speaking lawyers.
Are you a mortgage broker seeking to recommend a conveyancing solicitor to your expat or foreign national client?
We offer competitive fees and are registered on the conveyancing panel of almost all specialist expat lenders with familiarity of their specific requirements including irrevocable nomination documents and sharia law compliance. We can offer an efficient service for clients by arranging for the signing of mortgage deeds using electronic signatures in accordance with lender consent and land registry practice guide 82. Matters are handled by qualified Solicitors located in our London or Canterbury offices and we can communicate in Arabic, Turkish or Persian where required with foreign national clients.
Limited company Buy to Let purchase
As mentioned above, investing in property to turn into a buy-to-let is one motivation for many expats and foreign nationals. Securing a buy to let mortgage as an expat or foreign national is similar to the process already outlined earlier in this blog. One difference is that the potential rental income of the property will define how much a lender will allow you to borrow. It generally takes 6-8 weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
Keep in mind that the rental income is taxable, and if this purchase is for a ‘second home’ (regardless of whether the first home is in the UK or abroad), there will be an additional 5% stamp duty to pay. If you are purchasing a second home you may want to try our second home stamp duty calculator.
There are additional benefits to buying in the name of a limited company.
For more information, read our blog on Conveyancing for Limited Company Purchase
Legal Requirements when renting out your Property
If you want to learn more about buy-to-let mortgages in general, including the legal implications of letting out a property, please read an earlier blog entitled Section 21 No Fault Eviction.
Consent to Let for a British Expat
If you are a recent expat and still own your property with a residential mortgage, you may need your lender’s consent to let if you are thinking of renting out your property without getting a buy-to-let mortgage.
How Starck Uberoi can help
Starck Uberoi’s conveyancing solicitors have experience with a range of conveyancing transactions and can give you the guidance you need for an efficient conveyancing experience. We endeavour to help you make informed decisions by advising on legal issues thoroughly. We regularly deal with overseas clients purchasing property in England, so you can be assured that we will competently handle your conveyancing.
To make the conveyancing process even easier for our clients abroad, you won’t be obliged to travel to our London offices to show us the necessary proof of I.D and address required to comply with money laundering regulations. You may either instruct a notary public to verify this information or take advantage of our links to business associates in Dubai.
Our Offices
Our Brentford Solicitors, are located on the High Street in a grand three-story building, just a short distance from Brentford County Court. Our Belgravia solicitors are located Just a 5-minute walk from Victoria tube station in Grosvenor Gardens. Our Ealing solicitors are only a short walk from both Ealing Broadway and South Ealing and our Richmond Solicitors have the pleasure of overlooking the picturesque Richmond Green. Finally, our Solicitors in Canterbury are located in the within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Canterbury Cathedral. Our partner, Raminder Uberoi, can also offer a Notary Public Service at any of our London offices.
