A Church has owned a property for over 20 years which has been used as the residence of the Rector in charge of the parish.
Unfortunately the church has been without a Rector for three years and the residence has been vacant for this time The Church now wish to renovate the house
and are under the impression that this should be liable to a reduced rate of vat considering that this residence has been vacant for over 2 years
Would they be correct in this assumption or are they missing some important details
Replies (3)
Please login or register to join the discussion.
I think they are correct - if you look at VAT Notice 708 seems that the conditions would be met.
Empty Home Conditions
The reduced rate of VAT applies on conversion work where either Empty Home Conditions apply or the number of dwellings within a building changes as a result of the conversion / renovation work.
In this case the empty home conditions appear to have been met so 5% would only be due on any works undertaken to renovate the property although it will be worth ensuring the contractor is contracted to supply and fit all materials because then both the services of renovation and materials used qualify for 5%.