Tax relief on flat Refurb

berbatov10

Hi I am the owner of a BTL property, the tenant of which has just done a runner with 4 months arrears, ( not looking for sympathy)
The property has been let for 6 years needs new carpets, curtains a redecoration, as the tenant didnt return the walls to a neutral colour
The bathroom suite also need replacing to bring it up to date, along with tiles etc
Does anyone have any views on how HMRC might view this regards tax relief?  I am aware of the rules on 'Betterment' I dont intend to put in a spa bath, power shower, bidet, Jacuzzi etc, just make it more appealing as a rental property   

 

anselld

Redecoration and like-for-like replacement is certainly allowable provided you are intending to re-let.

Crashy_Time

berbatov10 said:

Hi I am the owner of a BTL property, the tenant of which has just done a runner with 4 months arrears, ( not looking for sympathy)
The property has been let for 6 years needs new carpets, curtains a redecoration, as the tenant didnt return the walls to a neutral colour
The bathroom suite also need replacing to bring it up to date, along with tiles etc
Does anyone have any views on how HMRC might view this regards tax relief?  I am aware of the rules on 'Betterment' I dont intend to put in a spa bath, power shower, bidet, Jacuzzi etc, just make it more appealing as a rental property   

 

Thought tenants were not allowed to paint the walls (according to some posters on here anyway)

Crashy_Time

I`m assuming the tenant who did the runner wasn`t there for 6 years?

berbatov10

Thanks guys. In answer yes it was the same tenant, who split from his partner so took the tenancy on his own last year. I encouraged the tenants to make it ' their home' with the proviso they return walls to a neutral colours before leaving 

AdrianC

Crashy_Time said:

berbatov10 said:

Hi I am the owner of a BTL property, the tenant of which has just done a runner with 4 months arrears, ( not looking for sympathy)
The property has been let for 6 years needs new carpets, curtains a redecoration, as the tenant didnt return the walls to a neutral colour

Thought tenants were not allowed to paint the walls (according to some posters on here anyway)

The landlord may well have allowed it, on condition the tenant returned them to neutral on leaving.

Or <faints with shock> the tenant may have just done it anyway, even though they weren't. Like, y'know, they weren't allowed to do a runner owing thousands of pounds, either.

berbatov10

I know landlords get a lot of stick but 2 things are, I charge a bit below the market rate on rent and I fix ANY problem straight away. It's an expensive pain that some tenants don't give a thought about the fact they have a roof over their head with zero risk

Comms69

Crashy_Time said:

berbatov10 said:

Hi I am the owner of a BTL property, the tenant of which has just done a runner with 4 months arrears, ( not looking for sympathy)
The property has been let for 6 years needs new carpets, curtains a redecoration, as the tenant didnt return the walls to a neutral colour
The bathroom suite also need replacing to bring it up to date, along with tiles etc
Does anyone have any views on how HMRC might view this regards tax relief?  I am aware of the rules on 'Betterment' I dont intend to put in a spa bath, power shower, bidet, Jacuzzi etc, just make it more appealing as a rental property   

 

Thought tenants were not allowed to paint the walls (according to some posters on here anyway)

No idea who said that, as long as it's returned as originally let i dont see the issue

berbatov10

That's the issue they didn't, just like they didn't pay the rent. Ce la vie 

3card

In response to your question.
As you mention betterment isnt allowed so what i did in this situation was take photos of the before and after to show that any 'renovations' were on a like-for-like basis

berbatov10

Yes 3card I intend to do that but thanks for the hint