Repairs did not affect suitability for use as a dwelling

In August 2019 the taxpayers bought a property and paid the stamp duty land tax on the basis that it was residential. They carried out a lot of renovation work on the property to make it suitable for a family and were unable to move in until May 2020.

The work carried out included rewiring installing a new boiler having a new roof repairing broken windows gutting the kitchen tanking the basement and clearing rubbish. The taxpayers said that until all the work had been done the building was not suitable for use as a dwelling and so was not a residential property within FA 2003 s 116(1). They submitted a repayment claim on the basis that the property was not residential. HMRC rejected the claim.

The First-tier Tribunal dismissed the taxpayers’ appeal.

The Upper Tribunal considered first the words ‘suitable for use as...