The steps that turn completion into a registered, tax-compliant transfer of title — SDLT, VAT and Land Registry deadlines that a buyer's solicitor cannot afford to miss.
Completion is not the end of a transaction: the buyer's title remains insecure until tax has been paid and registration achieved, and several of the deadlines are unforgiving. This chapter begins with an overview of what a buyer's solicitor must do after completion, then works through SDLT — its slice-based calculation, the filing window, the treatment of chattels and the conditions for first-time buyer relief — before covering the additional property surcharge, mixed-use rates and the position under LTT in Wales. It then turns to VAT on property transactions, including the option to tax and transfers of a going concern. The final sections deal with Land Registry applications for registered and unregistered land, the priority protection of an OS1 search, the consequences of missing the first registration deadline, and the loose ends of company charge registration, leasehold notices and mortgage discharge.
