Question "how often can I legally move house" ?

jb007uk

Hello,

Can anybody on here tell me how often I can buy and sell my main residence within a given period of time without the goverment telling me that I am breaking one of their laws?

Say, I sell my house and buy a run down house and sell it within 6 months can I do this again and every year? Please bear in mind that this will be my main residence and I do not own any other property? Does it say anywhere that I cannot move say 10 or even 20 times in 10 years?

Rgds - JB

Jowo_2

There doesn't seem to be a time limit detailed on the HMRC site but may be its buried in a big doc or perhaps they review properties on a case by case basis. Their site has a CGT calculator, too.

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Restrictions to the [Private Residence] relief

The main reason you bought it was to make a profit from a quick sale.


http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cgt/property/sell-own-home.htm

poppysarah

Give them a ring and ask.

pjcox2005

I think legally you can move house as often as you want but hopefully others will confirm.

However, you may want to be careful from a tax perspective. If you are buying run down houses, doing them up to sell for a profit and then moving onto the next, then HMRC could well deem you to be trading.

Your taxable profits would therefore be taxed as income (if a high earner then 40%) rather than capital (18%). You also won't get the prinicpal property excemption which normally means any gain on someones home is not taxable.

terryw

Obviously there is no legal stipulation on how often you can move house. But there is a chance for CGT purposes that the PPR exemption might not apply if HMRC considered you to be trading. Over the years I have known several people (including myself) who have made for example eight moves over five years and this has never raised any comment or question from HMRC. I don't think that this is something that they look out for except perhaps if someone was subject to an in-depth investigation.

In any case, there may well be other factors involved in the moves not just the wish to make a profit.

googler

Leaving aside tax issues, property professionals and lenders are becoming more cautious with regard to money laundering issues.

In some cases, purchasing solicitors are including a clause in their offers for properties, such that if it turns out the current owner hasn't held title to the property for 6 mths or more, then the purchasers can withdraw their offer without penalty.

This may be at the insistence of the lenders. It doesn't make it illegal to move within 6 mths, just makes it more difficult for you to sell, and more difficult for your purchaser to get finance......

jb007uk

Many thanks for all your replies it is very much appreciated.

Thank you - JB