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Can I count this damage as a deductible expense on rental property?
tante
Posts: 28 Forumite
Last year I was renting out a small flat as a short term holiday let. The final guests caused some flooding, which by the time we discovered the cause had done considerable damage to the floor and put the flat out of action for three months while we fixed it, at a labour cost of around £1500 overall (insurance wouldn't cover it).
After this incident we decided not to let the flat out any more and changed it back to residential. So the damage was caused during the time it was a short let property - BUT, by the time we finally managed to get a carpenter out to fix it, it was classed as our residence and not a rental property. Can I claim it as a valid expense, or will the fact that the invoices are dated later be a problem? I really feel that I should be able to claim it as it was damage done by guests during the course of its business activity... but I don't want to get into trouble on a technicality!
After this incident we decided not to let the flat out any more and changed it back to residential. So the damage was caused during the time it was a short let property - BUT, by the time we finally managed to get a carpenter out to fix it, it was classed as our residence and not a rental property. Can I claim it as a valid expense, or will the fact that the invoices are dated later be a problem? I really feel that I should be able to claim it as it was damage done by guests during the course of its business activity... but I don't want to get into trouble on a technicality!
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You're fine. BUT make sure the council aren't going to turn up on your doorstep.Last year I was renting out a small flat as a short term holiday let. The final guests caused some flooding, which by the time we discovered the cause had done considerable damage to the floor and put the flat out of action for three months while we fixed it, at a labour cost of around £1500 overall (insurance wouldn't cover it). - Insurance wouldn't cover it because presumably you didn't have business insurance; you probably didn't register with your local council either for business rates?
After this incident we decided not to let the flat out any more and changed it back to residential. So the damage was caused during the time it was a short let property - BUT, by the time we finally managed to get a carpenter out to fix it, it was classed as our residence and not a rental property. Can I claim it as a valid expense- the repair cost, of course. , or will the fact that the invoices are dated later be a problem? I really feel that I should be able to claim it as it was damage done by guests during the course of its business activity... but I don't want to get into trouble on a technicality!0 -
The guests went to a great deal of effort to reconnect an out-of-order washing machine and tried to use it. I thought that taping it up with a big sign, telling them in person not to use it, and disconnecting it just in case was overkill, but apparently not. Their DIY ended up with quite a lot of water soaking all through the subfloor. The boards had to be pulled up to get this out and replaced with dry materials.
Is that important? I thought that the date would be the only issue, not the nature of the repair work itself. Nothing was improved or changed, only returned to its condition before being flooded...0 -
Why didn't you get your guests to pay for the damage they intentionally caused?The guests went to a great deal of effort to reconnect an out-of-order washing machine and tried to use it. I thought that taping it up with a big sign, telling them in person not to use it, and disconnecting it just in case was overkill, but apparently not. Their DIY ended up with quite a lot of water soaking all through the subfloor. The boards had to be pulled up to get this out and replaced with dry materials.
Is that important? I thought that the date would be the only issue, not the nature of the repair work itself. Nothing was improved or changed, only returned to its condition before being flooded...0 -
You're fine. BUT make sure the council aren't going to turn up on your doorstep.
I'm puzzled, why would you think it probably wasn't rated properly? I did mention having changed it back to residential use...
Guest damage was supposed to be covered up to 1M by the booking agency's 'host protection scheme', but they turned out to be worse than useless.0 -
I'm puzzled, why would you think it probably wasn't rated properly? I did mention having changed it back to residential use...
Guest damage was supposed to be covered up to 1M by the booking agency's 'host protection scheme', but they turned out to be worse than useless.
Right, so you didn't have insurance...
My assumption was based upon 'your insurance' not paying out...0 -
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If you had this in the contract terms and the case fit the criteria you should pursue them via small claims court.
Yeah, I honestly don't know if I have the energy for that. I'm resigned to just chalking it up to experience, but if it's possible to claim the repair as an expense, that would be something.0
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