Finance Act 2013

New dwellings, conversions, demolition etc U.K.

124 New dwellings U.K.

(1) Where a new dwelling is being or has been constructed (whether or not as part of a larger building) the earlier of the following days is a valuation date in the case of a single-dwelling interest in that dwelling—

(a) the completion day;

(b) the day on which the dwelling is first occupied.

(2) The reference in subsection (1) to the construction of a new dwelling—

(a) includes the production of a new dwelling by the alteration (whether structural or otherwise) of an existing building, but

(b) does not include a case to which section 125 (dwellings produced from other dwellings) or section 128 (demolition and replacement: new dwellings) applies.

(3) The reference in subsection (1) to the “completion day” is to the day on which the new dwelling is treated as having come into existence for the purposes of—

(a) Part 1 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (council tax: England and Wales) (see section 17 of that Act), or

(b) Part 2 of that Act (council tax: Scotland) (see section 83 of that Act), or

(c) the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 (S.I. 1977/2157 (N.I. 28)) (see Article 25B of that Order).

(4) In this section “building” includes a part of a building.

125 Dwellings produced from other dwellings U.K.

(1) This section applies where an existing building that is a dwelling or dwellings (“the old dwelling” or “the old dwellings”) becomes a different dwelling or dwellings ( “ new ” dwellings) as a result of structural alteration.

(2) Any question as to whether or not a person has a single-dwelling interest at any time either in the old dwelling or dwellings or in a new dwelling is determined on the assumption that the old dwelling or dwellings cease to exist, and any new dwelling come into existence, only when the conversion is completed.

(3) The day after the conversion is completed is a valuation date in the case of any single-dwelling interest in a new dwelling.

(4) References to when the conversion is completed are to the end of the day on which the new dwelling is treated as having come into existence (or the first day on which all the new dwellings are treated as having come into existence) for the purposes of—

(a) Part 1 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (council tax: England and Wales) (see section 17 of that Act), or

(b) Part 2 of that Act (council tax: Scotland) (see section 83 of that Act), or

(c) the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 (S.I. 1977/2157 (N.I. 28)) (see Article 25B of that Order).

(5) In this section “building” includes a part of a building.

126 Demolition of a dwelling U.K.

(1) This section and sections 127 to 129 apply where a building that is a dwelling (“the old dwelling”) is demolished after 1 April 2013.

(2) Except so far as express provision to the contrary is made in sections 127 to 129, any question as to whether a person has a single-dwelling interest in the dwelling, and any question as to the taxable value of such an interest, is determined as if the dwelling had not been demolished.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) the demolition of a building is treated as having occurred after 1 April 2013 if a day after 1 April 2013 is the first day on which—

(a) the demolition has begun, and

(b) as a result, the building is no longer suitable for use as a dwelling.

(4) In this section “building” includes a part of a building.

127 Demolition without replacement U.K.

(1) Subsection (2) applies if a person entitled to a single-dwelling interest in the old dwelling notifies an officer of Revenue and Customs that to the best of the person's knowledge there is no proposal to construct any dwelling or dwellings on the site of the old dwelling.

(2) Any question as to whether a person has a single-dwelling interest in the old dwelling is determined on the assumption that the old dwelling ceases (or ceased) to exist with effect from the end of the day mentioned in subsection (3).

(3) That day is the first day on which—

(a) the demolition has begun, and

(b) as a result, the building in question is no longer suitable for use as a dwelling.

(4) A notification under subsection (1) must be given—

(a) in an annual tax on enveloped dwellings return, or

(b) by amending such a return.

(5) In this section—

(a) “building” includes part of a building;

(b) “the site of the old dwelling” means the land on which the dwelling stood and that counted as part of the dwelling;

(c) the reference to the construction of a dwelling or dwellings on that site is to the construction of a dwelling or dwellings wholly or partly on the site.

128 Demolition and replacement: new dwellings U.K.

(1) Subsection (2) applies if one or more dwellings (referred to below as “new dwellings”) are constructed on the site of the old dwelling after the demolition.

(2) Any question as to whether or not a person has a single-dwelling interest at any time either in the old dwelling or in a new dwelling is determined on the assumption that the old dwelling ceases to exist, and the new dwellings come into existence, only when the rebuilding is completed.

(3) The day after the rebuilding is completed is a valuation date in the case of any single-dwelling interest in a new dwelling.

(4) In subsection (1)—

(a) “the site of the old dwelling” means the land on which the dwelling stood and that counted as part of the dwelling;

(b) the reference to the construction of a dwelling on that site is to the construction of a dwelling wholly or partly on the site.

(5) References to when the rebuilding is completed are to the end of whichever of the following days is earlier—

(a) the completion day;

(b) the day on which the last of the new dwellings to be occupied is first occupied.

(6) The reference in subsection (5) to the “completion day” is to the day on which the new dwelling is treated as having come into existence (or the first day on which all the new dwellings are treated as having come into existence) for the purposes of—

(a) Part 1 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (council tax: England and Wales) (see section 17 of that Act), or

(b) Part 2 of that Act (council tax: Scotland) (see section 83 of that Act), or

(c) the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 (S.I. 1977/2157 (N.I. 28)) (see Article 25B of that Order).

129 Demolition and replacement: other cases U.K.

(1) This section applies if—

(a) a building is constructed on the site of the old dwelling after the demolition, and

(b) section 128 does not apply.

(2) Any question as to whether a person has a single-dwelling interest in the old dwelling is determined on the assumption that the old dwelling ceases to exist on the day after—

(a) the day on which the change of use is approved, or

(b) if later, the day on which the old dwelling ceased to be occupied.

(3) In subsection (1)—

(a) “the site of the old dwelling” means the land on which the dwelling stood and that counted as part of the dwelling;

(b) the reference to the construction of a dwelling on that site is to the construction of a dwelling wholly or partly on the site.

130 Conversion of dwelling for non-residential use U.K.

(1) This section applies where a building or part of a building—

(a) has been suitable for use as a dwelling, and

(b) is altered for the purpose of making it suitable for use otherwise than as a dwelling.

(2) The question whether or not the alterations make the building or part unsuitable for use as a dwelling is one of fact (but see subsection (3)).

(3) The building or part will not be regarded as having become unsuitable for use as a dwelling as a result of the alterations at any time unless by that time any planning permission or development consent required for the alterations has been granted (and the alterations have been made in accordance with any such permission or consent).

(4) In this section “planning permission” has the meaning given by the relevant planning enactment.

(5) “The relevant planning enactment” means—

(a) in relation to land in England and Wales, section 336(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990;

(b) in relation to land in Scotland, section 277(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997;

(c) in relation to land in Northern Ireland, Article 2(2) of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/1220 (N.I. 11)).

(6) In this section “development consent” means development consent under the Planning Act 2008.

131 Damage to a dwelling U.K.

(1) This section applies where a dwelling is damaged so as to be temporarily unsuitable for use as a dwelling.

(2) The unsuitability for use as a dwelling is taken into account in applying the definition of “dwelling” for the purposes of this Part (see section 112) only if the first and second conditions are met.

(3) The first condition is that the damage is—

(a) accidental, or

(b) otherwise caused by events beyond the control of the person entitled to the single-dwelling interest.

(4) The second condition is that, as a result of the damage, the building concerned is unsuitable for use as a dwelling for at least 90 consecutive days.

(5) Where the first and second conditions are met—

(a) the entire period of unsuitability for use as a dwelling (including the first 90 days) is taken into account in applying the definition of “dwelling”, and

(b) work done in that period to restore the building to suitability for use as a dwelling does not count, for the purposes of section 112 or 113, as construction or adaptation of the building for use as a dwelling.

(6) The first condition is regarded as not being met if the damage occurs in the course of work that—

(a) is done for the purpose of altering the dwelling (or a building of which it forms part), and

(b) itself involves, or could be expected to involve, making the building unsuitable for use as a dwelling for 30 days or more.

(7) In this section—

(a) references to alteration include partial demolition;

(b) references to a building include a part of a building.

(8) In this section references to damage include damage done before 1 April 2013; and days before 1 April 2013 may be taken into account for the purposes of subsection (4).