Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Estate definition

What does Estate mean? In practice, “estate” describes either: (1) the nature and duration of a person’s proprietary interest in land; or (2) the aggregate property of a person, commonly on death or bankruptcy. England & Wales and Northern Ireland: An estate in land denotes the time-based interest, not the land itself. Statute and case law limit legal estates primarily to freehold (fee simple absolute in possession) and leasehold (term of years absolute), with other interests (for example, life interests and beneficial interests under a trust) arising in equity. This concept underpins conveyancing, security, priorities and land registration. Ireland: Under the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform...

UK REIT tax regime: eligibility, ring-fenced property rental business, compliance tests, breaches, and taxation of REITs and investors

Published by a LexisNexis Tax expert

Practice notes

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UK real Estate investment trusts (UK REITs)

The UK regime for real estate investment trusts (REITs, termed UK REITs in statute) took effect on 1 January 2007. There are now in excess of 150 REITs, several of which moved into the structure when the framework first commenced. Those early adopters have since been joined by many more participants owing to revisions to the entry criteria, in particular the following:

the removal of the entry charge;
permission for REITs to invest in other REITs; and
a relaxation of the Listing condition so that companies without a formal listing, but admitted to trading and actually traded on a recognised stock exchange (for example on markets such as AIM), can also qualify.

Further amendments have been introduced to the REIT Rules in recent years with the stated intention of making the regime more appealing to prospective entrants. The principal legislative provisions for the REIT tax regime sit in Part 12 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 (CTA 2010, ss 518–609), with additional measures contained in secondary legislation...

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Martin Shah

Simmons & Simmons

Martin is a partner in the corporate tax group at Simmons & Simmons. His broad based practice encompasses financial markets, corporate, real estate (including structured real estate) and commercial work, with an emphasis on clients in the asset management & investment funds and financial institutions sectors. His focus includes advising on funds and other investment products, together with structural tax issues for asset management, banking and insurance clients.Martin leads the financial services tax practice which won European Financial Services Tax Team of the Year at the International Tax Review European Awards in 2011 and 2013. He is rated in the latest Legal 500 and Chambers directories ("very strong" in his defence of clients’ interests and can be relied upon to be "robust in difficult circumstances") for corporate tax and endorsed by PLC Which Lawyer?.Martin is a regular participant at the...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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