A reminder that the threshold for qualifying first-time buyers of residential property is £250,000. In summary:

the effective date must be on or after 25 March 2010, and before 25 March 2012;

the consideration must be no more than £250,000;

the buyer must intend to live in the property (as their only or main home);

the buyer must not previously have owned property or land either in the UK or anywhere else in the world (this includes property bought with anyone else).

First-time buyers’ relief is not available for: non-residential or mixed-use property; leasehold properties with leases of less than 21 years; properties that are treated as ‘linked transactions’ (unless it is to do with the same property, such as a separate lease on a garage); shared ownership schemes where the payment is made in stages (although the relief can be claimed if a market value election is made; and it cannot be claimed on the rent element of a leasehold property (ie the relief applies only to the premium).

To claim first-time buyers’ relief, enter relief code 32 in the SDLT return.