Readers’ forum: Conversion

I have a client who has a substantial house with barns at the back of the property. He has planning permission to convert the barns into holiday cottages.

As part of the planning permission the existing access to the road will be blocked. Instead a new gateway will be created. Once on the property the driveway will split to provide a new access to the existing house and a driveway to the new holiday cottages at the back. At the end of this driveway there will be a parking area with designated spaces for people using the cottages.

The conversion of the barns should qualify for the reduced VAT rate as the conversion of a property that has never been lived in to buildings designed as dwellings. There also does not seem to be any restriction on the separate use of the dwellings or...