Readers' forum : Coming home

My client wants to re-establish their property in the UK as their sole residence on returning to the UK and is planning to make extensive improvements. The property was bought and lived in for a short period before my client moved abroad for employment. They will move back into it after spending about 20 years overseas. For about 95% of this time the property has been rented to tenants. In any future sale it appears that only or main residence relief is applicable if the property is re-established as the primary home on returning to the UK and by using the period of full-time employment abroad as an eligible exemption and also by applying lettings relief.

However it is unclear whether there is a minimum amount of time that the property should be owned and lived in for it to be deemed the individual’s home. Going...