CG64815 - Garden/grounds: permitted area: automatically relieved

TCGA92/S222 (2)

If the area of the whole of the garden or grounds of the dwelling house, as defined at CG64360+, including the site of the dwelling house, does not exceed

• one acre for disposals before 19 March 1991.
• 0.5 hectares for disposals on or after 19 March 1991

relief is automatically available for the whole. The relief is available whether the land is sold together with the dwelling house or separately provided that the decision in Varty v Lynes does not apply (see CG64377+). There is no need for garden or grounds of that size to be required. The test outlined at CG64818 is not relevant.

The change to metric units, which increases the area by approximately 25 per cent, was introduced for the purpose of European Community harmonisation and does not imply that the previous limit of 1 acre was inadequate.

There is no automatic entitlement to relief on the full area of land outlined above if the land held with the residence is not all garden or grounds. For example, a person has a house and two hectares of land. Of that land 0.2 hectares are used as a garden while the remainder is used for the purposes of a trade. Relief only extends to the house and the 0.2 hectares of land which make up the garden of that house.