Furnished holiday lettings – What can you do if you fail to meet the occupancy tests due to the Covid-19 pandemic?

Lets that qualify as furnished holiday lettings (FHL) enjoy special tax rules compared to other types of let, allowing landlords to benefit from certain capital gains tax reliefs for traders and to claim plant and machinery capital allowances for items such as furniture, fixtures and equipment. Profits from an FHL business also count as earnings for pension purposes.

To qualify as an FHL the property must be in the UK or (for the time being at least) in the EEA. It must also be let furnished and meet various occupancy conditions.

Occupancy conditions

To qualify as an FHL, all three occupancy conditions must be met. Where the let is continuing, the tests are applied on a tax-year basis; for a new let, the must be met for the first 12 months of letting.

Test 1 – Pattern of occupancy condition

This test is met if the total of all lettings that exceed 31 days is not more than 155 days in the year.

Test 2 – The availability condition

The property must be available for letting as furnished holiday accommodation for at least 210 days in the tax year (excluding any days in which the landlord stays in the property).

Test 3 – The letting condition

The property must be let commercially as furnished holiday accommodation to the public for at least 105 days in the year. Lets of more than 31 days are not counted unless the let exceeds 31 days as a result of unforeseen circumstances. Lets to family or friends on a non-commercial basis are also ignored.

Impact of Coronavirus

The hospitality and leisure sectors have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown means that many landlords with holiday lets will fail to meet the letting condition in 2020/21. However, all is not lost and there are two routes by which it may be possible to reach the required occupancy threshold – an averaging election or a period of grace election.

Averaging election

An averaging election can be used where a landlord has more than one holiday let and one or more of the properties does not meet the letting condition. Instead of applying this test on a property by property basis, it can be applied by reference to the average rate of occupancy across all properties let as FHLs. Thus, the test is treated as met if on average the holiday lets are let for 105 days in the tax year.

While, at the time of writing, it was unclear when all the restrictions may be lifted, an averaging election may help landlords with mixed portfolios including some winter holidays lets as well as those that are popular in the summer.

Period of grace election

A period of grace election can be used where the landlord genuinely intended to meet the letting condition but was unable to. The Coronavirus pandemic is a prime example of where this may be the case.

To make a period of grace election, the pattern of occupation and availability conditions must be met. Also, the letting condition must have been met in the year before the first year in which the landlord wishes to make a period of grace election. If the letting condition is not met again in the following year, a second period of grace election can be made. However, if the test is not met in year 4 after two period of grace elections, the property will no longer qualify as a furnished holiday letting.

The election provides a potential lifeline to landlords of holiday lets unable to meet the letting condition in 2020/21 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It can be made either on the self-assessment tax return or separately (either with or without an averaging election). A period of grace election for 2020/21 must be made by 31 January 2023.

Partner note: Self-assessment Helpsheet HS253.

To find out more please follow us on Facebook , Twitter or LinkedIn. Feel free to contact us on 0333 006 4847 or request a call back by texting to 075 6464 7474.