Business, or not?

J_B

Daughter of friend owns and lives in a 2 bed flat in Londinium


Husband has a new job with a house included.


They are renting out their flat - would they be getting 1.5K pcm?


Ought they to be registering as a 'business'?

Savvy_Sue

Rental prices in London are eye-watering, so a nice flat in a good location, possibly.

No need to register a business. One or both of them needs to do a tax return: depends on who's getting the rent.

If their affairs are complicated an accountant could be worthwhile, but what they MUST do is become knowledgeable landlords. Annual safety checks, protecting deposits, watertight tenancy agreements, allowable expenses...

00ec25

I suggest you leave the daughter to get advice from elsewhere, rather than you trying to teach yourself the entirety of UK taxation for property rental, and why it is not a "business" in the sense you think it is

alternatively if your interest in the matter is because they are evading tax, then report them https://www.gov.uk/report-an-unregistered-trader-or-business

martindow

It may be worth having a read of this thread and following links to G_M's guides for landlords and tenants.


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5180214/tenancies-in-eng-wales-guides-for-landlords-and-tenants


Being a LL is not to be taken lightly and as Sue has said there are a lot of things to be aware of, for your sake and the tenant's.

J_B

00ec25 wrote: »

I suggest you leave the daughter to get advice from elsewhere, rather than you trying to teach yourself the entirety of UK taxation for property rental, and why it is not a "business" in the sense you think it is

alternatively if your interest in the matter is because they are evading tax, then report them https://www.gov.uk/report-an-unregistered-trader-or-business

It was just a curious enquiry, that's all and really none of my business (and friends currently have bigger things to concern them)

I suspect there have been many 'accidental landlords' for a good while now.

Savvy_Sue

J_B wrote: »

I suspect there have been many 'accidental landlords' for a good while now.

Oh indeed, but 'ignorance of the law is no excuse' in this area as in any other!