Tenant moving out. Redecorating property and re-letting. Reduce tax liability?

Ger1966

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Hi all,

I know this has been discussed before, but I'm still not very clear on what the answer is.

My situation is that I've had a tenant in a property for just over 8 years and they're moving out. I'm not going to sell, but am going to continue to rent. The property can't be rented in its current state, so I'll need to re-decorate, replace wooden floors throughout, replace beds and couches.

I've seen previous threads where it was said that pre-letting expenses aren't allowed and links were provided to the Revenue web site. I've taken a look at these links, and under the "What Expenses are allowed", there's a bullet point that says "expenses in between renting out the property in certain circumstances". Does anybody know what the "certain circumstances" are?

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
There is no issue here with you claiming these costs as repairs. Bed and couches is wear and tear. This is not pre letting expenses, that's when you initially purchase and do up a place.

Make sure you take pictures of the damage. Just in case there is bad blood and the tenant takes you to the RTB. Also good for proof to revenue of why such extensive repairs/replacement was needed.
 
Ger can you tell us why there is so much damage. I'm asking as a landlord. Tks.
 
Hi Bronte,

There was the normal wear and tear - as would be expected after 8 years - so bed and couch will have to be replaced. The apartment will also need to be re-painted as this was last done just before the tenant moved in. The laminate flooring was lifting in places in the living room - maybe down to using too wet of a mop when cleaning the floor. This laminate was down when I bought the apartment, so it needs to be replaced too.

The bedroom was the worst though. There is a smell of damp / urine in the room and was very noticeable as soon as I walked into the bedroom. As it stood, I wouldn't be able to re-rent the apartment.

Which leads me to another question about apartment block insurance - maybe a separate thread is appropriate here. Have a read of this, and let me know if this warrants a separate thread and I'll create one. While I was taking up the laminate flooring in the bedroom, I noticed a LOT of damp around the skirting board on the wall that backs onto the bathroom (and where the bath/shower is). I haven't investigated the issue fully, but this dampness was probably caused by the shower. The dampness has traveled to the adjoining wall. This would seem to be there a long time, so I don't know if the plaster board is damaged and will need to be replaced. Does anybody have experience of having a similar issue with a leak coming from a shower in an apartment? Were you able to claim off the block insurance? I have uploaded 1 photo to show what I mean.
 

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Looks to me like the shower will have to be retiled. Better off doing it right. And if it's been going on a long time then the plasterbord should be redone. There's a plaster called marine ply (hope I've the right spelling) that is recommended, but it's a long time since I've heard of that. I was admiring a seamless type of shower in a hotel, no tiling, just pure plastic.

No idea about the block insurance, that should be your own insurance, but even then I'm not sure this is claimable.

(you need a better painter, he was woeful around the socket)
 
This would seem to be there a long time, so I don't know if the plaster board is damaged and will need to be replaced. Does anybody have experience of having a similar issue with a leak coming from a shower in an apartment? Were you able to claim off the block insurance?

Block insurance policies will not cover issues as a result of a leak in your internal plumbing system. In fact the majority of household property insurance explicitly excludes cover for damage such as this caused over time.

There's a plaster called marine ply (hope I've the right spelling) that is recommended, but it's a long time since I've heard of that. I was admiring a seamless type of shower in a hotel, no tiling, just pure plastic.

Marine ply is an external grade of plywood. You can get PVC wall cladding for showers, but a lot of it can look quite cheap and you still need to be very attentive to detailing around the joints. Some of the modern hotel builds use bathroom [broken link removed] that are built off-site to get a fully sealed enclosures.

We can take the repair conversation to the Homes & Gardens forum, but cement board is a better base choice for tiling in bathrooms.
 
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