Can I claim for repairs in empty rental house

P

Pierre

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I have a rental house which was vacated last June after a number of years of tenanted occupancy. The house has been empty since then while I dithered on what I was going to do with it. It needs a bit of work to get it up to a decent standard again. I know if I installed things like new heating , windows etc this would be considered Capital Expenditure and I could not claim them against my Tax Returns.

However I have also discovered the ceiling below the bathroom is about to come down due a leak the tenant did n't inform me about. The bathroom floorboards are soaked , possibly rotting and look like they will have to be replaced.

Would repairs to the bathroom floor be deductible as expenses even though the house is empty at the moment.
There is something at the back of my mind that Pre-letting expenses are not allowable against Tax but I don't quite understand if that means from the very first time a house is rented out or anytime the house is vacant.
Any thoughts out there.
 
Pre-letting expenses are those expenses incurred before the property was let. However the property has been let and is between lettings to the pre-letting rules should not apply.

You may be able to claim a tax deduction on the repair and renewal grounds - not a clear area. You will see more about it in the forum. From memory it all boils down to whether there is any level of improvement No improvement in asset but merely reinstating it to its former state then an allowable tax deduction may be claimed for the expense. Others may have looked at this in greater detail than myself and have a more definite view.
 
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It is true the pre letting expenses are not allowd, but repairs etc between tenancies are allowed. Only thing is that June is more than 6 months ago, I'd clarify directly with revenue, by email or letter. A valid reason for the delay might be that you didn't have the money and couldn't let it in the current condition.

Windows, I consider this not to be capital. Ditto the heating. I consider capital putting on an extension, converting a unit into multiple units, a sun room etc.

Every house will have windows that need 'replacing', same with the central heating.

If you're not sure, hire an accountant, money well spent.

Sounds like quite a bit of expenditure, if you borrow the money, 75% of the interest is deductable.
 
Eithneangela said:
Can you not claim for major structural work on your insurance?
Click to expand...

Not for the windows and heating, but yes for the water damage. But he might run into problems on this as the house was unoccupied, he probably didn't tell the insurance company and they have rules on this. Generally 30 days.
 
Thanks for your responses. I only discovered the extent of the damage when the tenants moved out. The bath leaked and they did a patch up job themselves. They did n't call me.I don't think they even realized the floorboards where damaged.
I never even thought of claiming against my insurance. I guess I am so conditioned to not making claims in case it drives up insurance the following year I did n't even consider it. That pretty much defeats the purpose of having insurance.
The damage happened when the house was occupied. I am only getting around to fixing things now as I could n't afford it earlier in the year due to having to pay tax on my rental income for 2012 and also having to pay preliminary tax for 2013. That cleaned me out.
I just wanted to clarify that any repairs I carry out now can be claimed against future tax returns. I'm not really looking to improve the bathroom just to fix the problem . I'm concerned the floor joists have been saturated and could be rotting.If so it would be a big job but it is a genuine repair. I might take photos as evidence just in case it was queried.
 
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