On the 9 July I posted the top 10 tax considerations residential landlords need to take into account.

Following is my answer to the eighth point – do you know which property repairs & renewals you are able to claim income tax relief on?

The general rule is that expenses must be ‘wholly and exclusively’ for the purpose of the rental business. Repair means the restoration of an asset by replacing subsidiary parts of the whole asset rather than its entirety and without improvement, other than due to more modern materials being used. Renewal of a part is a repair to the larger property asset. Equipment provided with the property such as movable furniture, carpets, curtains, white goods & electrical appliances are subject to separate tax deduction rules.

The main allowable property repair expenses a typical landlord would incur include the following:
• exterior and interior painting and decorating,
• stone cleaning,
• damp and rot treatment,
• replacing windows with double glazed units, mending broken windows, doors, furniture and machines such as cookers or lifts,
• re-pointing, rewiring, renewing pipework,
• replacing & repairing internal & external doors & door furniture,
• reroofing, replacing roof slates, flashing and gutters.
• replacing a boiler or radiators
• resurfacing driveways and paths, replacing broken slabs & bricks
• replacing kitchen & bathroom units, sanitary ware, re-plastering and re-tiling
There are special rules where a rundown un-lettable property is converted to be used for letting. We recommend that specific advice is sought on the tax treatment, preferably prior to commencing the works.

There are special rules where a rundown un-lettable property is converted to be used for letting. We recommend that specific advice is sought on the tax treatment, preferably prior to commencing the works.