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When transferring an interest in land (whether freehold or leasehold), unless the contract provides otherwise:

1. •

   any fixtures form part of the land and are transferred with it, and

2. •

   any fittings (also known as chattels) do not form part of the land and will not be included

Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether a particular item is a fixture or fitting. This can lead to dispute as to whether that item is included in the sale. It can also lead to issues when apportioning the purchase price between the property and chattels included as part of the sale for stamp duty land tax (SDLT)/land transaction tax (LTT) purposes (see: Tax—fixtures and fittings).

Depending on the drafting, in the context of a lease (as between a landlord and tenant), whether an item is a landlord’s fixture, a tenant’s fixture or a fitting/chattel can have implications in relation to repairing obligations, reinstatement, insurance, rent review and yielding up.

The majority of this Practice Note looks at the position on a sale of land (freehold or leasehold), including