Readers’ forum: Can first-time buyer wife claim relief?

I have met two potential clients – husband and wife – regarding a separate matter but in passing they mentioned that they are looking to move home before any potential changes in the SDLT rules are considered.

The husband bought their current property shortly before meeting his wife in 2018. She moved in in 2020 and they were married in late 2023. She had always rented beforehand and has never purchased a property. She has not been put on the Land Registry as a joint owner nor on the mortgage for their current home since they married.

They now have equity of approx. £200 000 which they wish to use as a deposit on their next home; they will sell their current home in order to buy the new one rather than remortgage. The equity is effectively the husband’s and he intends to gift this to...