Commentary on Sections Overview Overview Section 281: Sums payable for variation or waiver of term of lease
1137.This section deals with the case where a payment is made for the variation or waiver of any of the terms of a lease. It is based on section 34(1), (5), (6), (7) and (7A) of ICTA.
1138.Section 34(1) of ICTA applies if the duration of the lease is not more than 50 years. Section 34(5)(a) of ICTA provides that any period before or after the period for which the variation or waiver has effect must be ignored in arriving at the duration of the lease. So for the purposes of section 34(4) of ICTA, the duration of a lease cannot be longer than the period for which the variation or waiver has effect. Subsection (1) makes clear that – irrespective of the length of the lease – the payment of a sum as consideration for the variation or waiver of the terms of a lease for a period of not more than 50 years is within the scope of this section. See Change 68 in Annex 1.
1139.Section 34(6) of ICTA says that sums due to a person other than a landlord under:
	section 34(1) of ICTA (premiums);
	section 34(4) of ICTA (sums payable instead of rent or for the surrender of a lease); and
	section 34(5) of ICTA (sums payable for the variation or waiver of the terms of a lease),
are charged on that person.
1140.Section 34(7) of ICTA disapplies section 34(6) of ICTA if the payment is due to a person not connected with the landlord. But section 34(7) of ICTA does not explicitly set aside the requirement in section 34(5) of ICTA to treat sums payable for the variation or waiver of the terms of a lease as the payment of a premium to the landlord if that payment is made to a person unconnected with the landlord. So it is not clear whether section 34(6) of ICTA catches a person unconnected with the landlord who receives a consideration in connection with the variation or waiver of the terms of a lease (eg a person living above a shop who receives a payment in consideration of the landlord waiving a term in the shop lease which restricts the hours during which the shop may open).
1141.Subsection (1) deals with this by providing that this section applies only if the sum is due to the landlord or a connected person. “Connected person” is defined in section 839 of ICTA (see section 878(5) of this Act). See Change 70 in Annex 1.
1142.Subsections (2) to (4) of this section are drafted on the same basis as subsections (2) to (4) of section 277.
1143.Subsection (2) treats a person to whom a sum is due as consideration for the variation or waiver of the terms of a lease as entering into a transaction mentioned in section 264 (if the land to which the lease relates is in the United Kingdom) or section 265 (if the land to which the lease relates is outside the United Kingdom). The effect of sections 264 and 265 is that the transaction will be included in, or will constitute, the person's UK or overseas property business.
1144.Section 34(1) of ICTA treats income in the hands of a landlord as received when the lease is granted. There is no corresponding rule for non-landlords in section 34(6) of ICTA. This section instead requires a person carrying on the property business (whether or not that person is the landlord) to bring an amount into account in calculating the profits of that business for the tax year in which the sum is payable. See Change 69 in Annex 1.
1145.Section 37(2) of ICTA provides for the reduction of amounts treated as rent under section 34 or 35 of ICTA which arise in respect of the “grant or disposition” of a lease. It is arguable that section 37(2) of ICTA does not apply to an amount treated as income under section 34(5) of ICTA in respect of a sum payable for the variation or waiver of the terms of a lease because the amount does not arise in respect of the grant or disposition of a lease.
1146.Section 287(1) extends relief under section 288 to receipts in respect of sums payable for variation or waiver. This is reflected in subsection (5) of this section. See Change 71 in Annex 1.
1147.The formula in section 34(1) of ICTA calculates the amount treated as received by way of rent by reference to the duration of the lease. Section 34(5)(a) of ICTA says that in computing the profits of the business any period other than that in relation to which the variation or waiver has effect must be ignored. So in calculating the amount to be treated as rent in respect of a sum within section 34(5) of ICTA, the duration of the lease for the purposes of the formula in section 34(1) of ICTA must be adjusted in accordance with section 34(5)(a) of ICTA.
1148.Subsection (6) combines the requirements in section 34(1) and (5)(a) of ICTA so that the period used in the calculation is the shorter of the period for which the variation or waiver has effect and the period from the beginning of that period to the end of the effective duration of the lease.