Some time ago, HMRC announced it would be looking into under declarations of rental income by landlords in its Let Property Campaign, giving buy to let and other private landlords the opportunity to make a full and voluntary declaration of any tax owing on relatively favourable terms.
HMRC has widened its sweep and has the power, through issuing statutory notices, to force lettings agents to provide details of rents collected on behalf of all landlords. It estimates up to 1.5 million landlords may be under declaring every year and has sophisticated data gathering abilities to check figures.
Already, it has announced that almost £8 million has been collected from landlords who under declared so make sure your house is in order, so to speak, and voluntarily contact HMRC if you suspect there may be anomalies.
Tenant deposit loans
In the last issue of Clearer View I outlined the new tenant deposit loan scheme launched by the Government into both the public and private employment sectors.
It’s worth pointing out that if a deposit is being paid by a third party on a tenant's behalf by way of an agreement with that tenant then the s213(10) of the Housing Act 2004 definition applies to those paying deposits on behalf of tenants as "relevant persons" and they must be served the information prescribed by the Housing (Tenancy Deposits)(Prescribed Information) Regulations 2007 covering key information about the tenant deposit and where it is protected.
Failure to do so could mean it is not possible to serve a valid notice under s21 of the Housing Act 1988 on any tenant when the prescribed information has not been served on them and on any relevant person. In addition either the tenant or the relevant person (or possibly both of them) can make a claim for the usual financial penalties.
Landlords and agents must convey the necessary information to employers in good time.
Lisa Simon,
Partner Head of Residential Lettings
T: 020 7518 3234
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