Lee Sharpe concludes his consideration of the tax aspects of a house in multiple occupation (HMO) conversion.
In this final instalment of the case study from previous articles in this series, I pick up the thread of ‘capital versus revenue’ expenditure, firstly by developing the capital allowances issues, and then looking at rooves (or roofs).
4. Mains consumer unit and new boiler
In line with the requirement for fire doors at (3) in Part 2, HMO licensing may well require that the mains consumer unit has a higher specification than an ordinary unit for a private homeowner. It follows that this would be an improvement, not a repair, so it must be capital. However, it should, in turn, qualify for capital allowances, assuming it is (as usual) located in a ‘common part’ (see Part 2) of the building (typically the entrance hall or similar), for ready access by
