“Kitchen - A dwelling would be expected to have an area where a meal can be prepared and somewhere suitable to eat it (not necessarily in the same place). It is not necessary for a kitchen to have a cooker or white goods such as a fridge or dishwater present at the effective date of the transaction, because these are sometimes removed on a house sale. However, there should be space and infrastructure in place e.g. plumbing for sink, power source for cooker etc.”
“It must be sufficiently self-contained to be considered a ‘single dwelling.’ The test of whether a property is “suitable for use” as a single dwelling is a more stringent test than whether it forms a self-contained part of a larger dwelling. Furthermore, whether or not it is suitable for use as a single dwelling requires consideration of whether it is sufficiently independent to be considered a dwelling on its own. In the case where a building is considered to contain more than one dwelling, evidence will be needed to show that each ‘dwelling’ in question is sufficiently independent to count as a separate dwelling in its own right. In the absence of sufficient evidence, it may be decided that it is more appropriate to consider that there is one dwelling, not two or more.” (2) SDLTM00425 provides assistance of the meaning of “kitchen facilities”: “Kitchen - A dwelling would be expected to have an area where a meal can be prepared and somewhere suitable to eat it (not necessarily in the same place). It is not necessary for a kitchen to have a cooker or white goods such as a fridge or dishwater present at the effective date of the transaction, because these are sometimes removed on a house sale. However, there should be space and infrastructure in place e.g. plumbing for sink, power source for cooker etc.” (3) SDLTM00420, provides assistance in determining the significance of certain aspects of the physical configuration of the Property on the EDT. It states: “The physical configuration of the property on the EDT is very important in determining how many dwellings there are. […] ‘Physical configuration’ in this context relates to the facilities of the dwelling, independent access to the dwelling and privacy from other dwellings. These aspects are considered to be of great importance and the lack of one of them would normally cast significant doubt on whether the area in question could be considered suitable for use as a separate ‘single dwelling.’”
“50. As the property was unoccupied at the time of acquisition, this issue is to be addressed, applying the words of sub-paragraph 7(2)(a) of the Schedule, by asking whether main house and annex were, at that time, each suitable for use as a single dwelling. 51. We approach “suitability for use” as an objective determination to be made on the basis of the physical attributes of the property at the relevant time. Suitability for a given use is to be adjudged from the perspective of a reasonable person observing the physical attributes of the property at the time of the transaction. 52. A dwelling is the place where a person (or a group of persons) lives. A building or part can be suitable for use as a dwelling only if it accommodates all of a person's basic domestic living needs: to sleep, to eat, to attend to one's personal and hygiene needs; and to do so with a reasonable degree of privacy and security. By requiring that the building or part be suitable for use as a “single” dwelling, the statutory language emphasises suitability for self-sufficient and stand-alone use as a dwelling. Use as a “single” dwelling excludes, in our view, use as a dwelling joined to another dwelling.”