Mortgage Interest Relief stopped by Revenue - I believe incorrectly

Dublin_Resident said:
Bronte, no my tenant is in full time employment also.
I received the letter from Revenue in mid January so it was actually sent when I was barely 10 weeks out of the country.

The bins are covered by the management company service charge. The phone/broadband are still in my name.
As I said I have recent bills that I can send; at this stage though I think I should call to clear this up once and for all??
Click to expand...

Does this person still live with you now that you're all back home again?
 
Thanks again for all the great feedback.
My friend has just gone sale agreed on a house. I've told him he can stay until his new home is ready to move in to.
It should be ready in the next 2 months. I don't think this should change anything? We will still be comfortably under the 'rent a room' threshold.
 
Why did he move into your house if his own house has just sold. Curiosor and curiosor.
 
He doesn't currently own a house so not sure where you picked that up from Bronte.
He has gone sale agreed on a new home that he hopes to move in to in the next 2 months.
Sorry to disappoint.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jim
Something very odd about all of this. You, your partner, your child and your friend all living together in a 1 bed apartment, is space not an issue!!!
 
In fairness to the OP he came on here with a question and i think ithas been answered. Either phone revenue or as bronte said post in a bill to them. Should be end of. Bon chance.
 
Thank you for your concern Firehead. Only I am moving back in to the apt at present so space will not be an issue. I won't be commenting on that any further on this thread but I can assure you the reasons for this are perfectly legitimate. Not that Revenue would be questioning this which is what my question actually relates to.

The apt is in my name.
The mortgage is in my name.
I'm moving back in after 4 months abroad so it is still my PPR as I see it.

These are the facts.
Thanks for any constructive feedback.
 
Where are you wife and child moving to? Does your wife have her own property?
 
They are staying with a family member. She does not have her own property.

I have just spoken with Revenue and it was very straightforward. I explained that I was just back from a 4 month break.
I didn't even get to mention 'rent a room' or bills or anything like that (although I did want to get everything on the table and avoid mistakes of the past however nothing was asked so I did not offer the information).
I need to sign the declaration that was sent and provide a few utility bills which will not be a problem.

Thanks again for the help!
 
Something about all of this stinks.

Your wife & child have effectively moved out so that there's enough room for your rent a room tenant to continue living in your one bed apartment...?! Certainly entirely contrary to the spirit of the law, if not the letter of the law.

I cant help but wonder if the OP is using this thread to help construct a narrative to avoid a problem. Maybe I'm just a cynic!
 
Jon Snow said:
Something about all of this stinks.

Your wife & child have effectively moved out so that there's enough room for your rent a room tenant to continue living in your one bed apartment...?! Certainly entirely contrary to the spirit of the law, if not the letter of the law.

I cant help but wonder if the OP is using this thread to help construct a narrative to avoid a problem. Maybe I'm just a cynic!
Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly. There's a whiff of tax evasion about all of this.
 
1. OP went on holiday for a few weeks (as you do).
2. Let friend stay in apt while away and charged him rent (fine under rent a room scheme).
3. put some bill(s) in friends name while he was away (no big deal).
4. Revenue somehow got "whiff" of new person staying in this 1 bed apt and assumed, incorrectly, that OP has moved out (revenues mistake).
5. Revenue send letter to OP stating they "believed" apt was no longer his PPR (as they do).
6. OP comes on here for advice re the above scenario (good call?).
7. OP gets appropriate advice and acts on this and accomplishes his mission (well done).
8. Various others start accusing him of tax evasion and question why he has a friend living with him etc::D:rolleyes::mad::)).
 
Last edited:
if the bank were notified by you of a change in the correspondence address, and it was different to the security address.
The bank have an obligation to notify the revenue, if you are in receipt of TRS.
 
Isn't it a requirement of the rent-a-room scheme that the landlord must also be living in the property?

"It is not possible to rent an entire residence because the room or rooms that are let must form part of the residence and the residence must be occupied by the individual receiving the rent as his sole/main residence"

If the OP was not occupying the property for those 4 months, it seems to me that at the very least he would be liable for tax etc on the rent received after deducting expenses?
 
Nutso, yes the landlord has to be living in the property to avail of the rent a room scheme. However the OP appears to have sorted the issue with Revenue. I think he is lucky that they didn't probe a little further.
 
So if you go on a holiday does that mean you are deemed to be no longer living there?
 
no of course not, lots of people lock up and go off on long treks. In this case the owner went off on four month holiday, changed some household bills into a renters' name and someone notified revenue.
 
jim said:
1. OP went on holiday for a few weeks (as you do).
2. Let friend stay in apt while away and charged him rent (fine under rent a room scheme).
3. put some bill(s) in friends name while he was away (no big deal).
4. Revenue somehow got "whiff" of new person staying in this 1 bed apt and assumed, incorrectly, that OP has moved out (revenues mistake).
5. Revenue send letter to OP stating they "believed" apt was no longer his PPR (as they do).
6. OP comes on here for advice re the above scenario (good call?).
7. OP gets appropriate advice and acts on this and accomplishes his mission (well done).
8. Various others start accusing him of tax evasion and question why he has a friend living with him etc::D:rolleyes::mad::)).
Click to expand...

You show a distinct lack of understanding of how Revenue operates, if you think that within 10 weeks of what the OP has described, they're writing out and withdrawing TRS. You should be rolling your eyes at yourself there.

The point I'm making is that IF the OP's story is true, then it's just coincidence about this correspondence from Revenue arriving when it has.

But whatever about the long holiday / house sitter, it is a VERY strange scenario to the point of incredulity, when you arrive home and ship your wife and small child out to stay with relatives so that your house sitter can continue to sit in your family home. That's where my alarm bells start ringing, and makes me wonder about motives, narrative etc...
 
But theoretically the renter could have moved in while the lando was still there...lando went off for 4 mnths, came back and evidentally the renter is still living there. Thats rent a room and nothing else.
 
But jon snow...whether or not you believe the op is completely irrelevant to his one and only question...which is the point i was making in that post. His question was simple and it has been answered.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top