A 40-acre area of fields (in a 106-acre site) used for growing and cutting grass was part of the garden or grounds of a house, such that the property acquired by the taxpayer consisted entirely of residential property for stamp duty land tax purposes. 

On 18 February 2022, the appellant purchased a residential property in Hertfordshire, which was around 106 acres in size, for £10,750,000. The property included a 40-acre area to the rear of the house (the fields), which had clear boundaries, being mostly surrounded by trees or hedges with two separate areas divided by a wooded strip. The house and fields were on the same Land Registry title. The area around the property was rural, consisting mainly of farmland and woods. 

At the time of the appellant’s acquisition of the property, there was a ‘mowing licence’ in place relating to the fields. The licence had been granted by the property’s previous owner (B) to a