"you must report any queries within 5 days" - legit?

davidmcn

d000hg wrote: »

does this type of work have any applicable consumer rights in terms of timing?

If you want specific advice, you'll need to tell us which consumer rights you're referring to, so we can check the relevant definition of "consumer" - we don't know whether your "queries" actually trigger any consumer rights. Most of the discussion above seems to be about the definitions relating to tax.

LandyAndy

unholyangel wrote: »

You register with companies house as a company (clue is in the name). A sole trader IS a business but is not a company.

Its quite clear from your post that you think business means company, it does not.

.

You'd be astonished (or maybe not ) how many people just don't grasp this fundamental difference.

agrinnall

d000hg wrote: »

I didn't deny being the landlord I am dubious that legally that means I am a business.

It's your tenants that I feel sorry for, if you don't even know that you are running a business which of the many legal responsibilities of being a landlord are you also unaware of?

mattyprice4004

Oh, you have to have some kind of legal entity to be a business? Better make some changes then, I'm a sole trader with no Ltd company, but definitely run a business!

I'm also a landlord, and well aware that this is also a business activity.
Jesus wept.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

I dread to think how OP treats their tenants!

photome

I was self employed a few years back, it meant I was running a business, I wasnt a company though

SuperHan

d000hg wrote: »

No, I'm not. I'm a business if I register a business, have a Companies' House registered business number and file a CT600 each year.

No - that's if you're a company.

A sole trader is NOT a business.
The clue is in the name.

Wrong. They are a business and they get various business tax reliefs to reflect that (gift relief, business property relief, entrepreneurs' relief - all require a business but not a company).

To sum up: You are not "a business" because you "do business". In fact YOU are never a business. You can be a sole-trader or a business owner, but a business is a legal entity in its own right. It is subject to totally different laws.

Wrong again.

However, you are right that you don't necessarily have a business. You could have an investment (no one would say you are a business because you have an ISA that gives you dividend returns). Property can be treated much the same. You may have a business - I don't have enough facts to confirm or deny this. However, if the builder contracted with you on the basis you were a consumer then they would be bound by consumer rights.


I don't know the answer to your question, as you've actually bought a service rather than goods (and the rules on services aren't as favourable as those on goods).

Les79

d000hg wrote: »

What does that have to do with anything?
Yes. Since I don't run my BTL properties through a business, I declare their earnings and costs in my SATR each year. That is, my personal tax return, not my business tax return. Because it is classed as personal income (like your salary) because being a landlord doesn't make you a business.

No, I'm not. I'm a business if I register a business, have a Companies' House registered business number and file a CT600 each year. If that business purchases properties it is a property investment business and taxed according to company tax rates. You get better ability to write off costs against income thana private landlord but get no CGT breaks so it is generally considered a worse option unless you are buying a lot of properties and can thus avoid the 2nd home SDLT surcharge of 3%.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/buytolet/article-4596926/Should-limited-company-buy-let.html

Um, you're entirely wrong. UK companies are taxed according to the same rules. There are special cases (small companies get some tax breaks and can file shortened versions of tax returns, amongst other things) but even my 1-man consultancy business files the same paperwork to HMRC year as Tesco... these are publicly available documents.
A sole trader is NOT a business. The clue is in the name. Sole traders' income is classed as personal income and taxed on their SATR. It is the route for individuals who don't want to set up a business, though many individuals DO set up Limited companies because it can be more tax efficient. In that case, they are business owners and their business is subject to corporation tax, etc.
If I own 1 or 10 BTLs in my own name, this is all classed as personal income and counts towards my personal tax, higher-rate tax bracket, etc.


To sum up: You are not "a business" because you "do business". In fact YOU are never a business. You can be a sole-trader or a business owner, but a business is a legal entity in its own right. It is subject to totally different laws. Consumers have rights when dealing with businesses, if two businesses deal with each other this is very different but a B2B contract is between two legally defined business entities.

Hope that helps all those of you who'd rather pick nits than answer a simple question. Maybe you learned something, even. I'm not an expert or an accountant but I have run a business for 11 years and been a landlord of 1-3 properties for 10. If you want to throw in a word about the consumer rights of an individual when dealing with a registered business, great. If you want to be distracted that the letter which piqued my curiosity happened to be related to a BTL property even though I clearly said I am asking generally rather than specifically, that's fine too.

I appreciate your post, as it is well-written.


I'm just completely on the fence as to whether or not it is "blag" (well, in your case it will more likely be a case of "I've done it for 10 years without issue so I must be right" mindset; sadly the question at hand does not infringe on the likes of HMRC etc so it will never have been tested).


I think people on here (myself included) are thinking of it the other way around; you are (presumably) spending money to renovate a property which you are renting out. That's hardly the definition of a "consumer". The literal definition of "consumer" is someone who purchases goods for "personal use". So you likely don't quite fit that literal definition.


All of the above aside, there is a really simple answer;


If anything goes wrong then challenge the term and see what they say. If they refuse, seek some legal advice and/or take the company to small claims court. If the issue of you being a business comes up then present your case to the judge who will be considering the small claims case. No matter what you, I or others believe is correct only a judge overseeing any possible claim will be in a position to make a ruling on that.

waamo

Here you go a handy guide from the government https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31676/11-1399-guide-legal-forms-for-business.pdf