Finance Act, 1995

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Deduction for certain expenditure on construction of rented residential accommodation.

50.—(1) In this section—

“qualifying lease”, in relation to a house, means, subject to section 53 (3), a lease of the house the consideration for the grant of which consists solely of—

(a) a single payment which is, or falls to be treated as, an amount by way of rent for the purposes of Chapter VI of Part IV of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , or

(b) periodic payments all of which are, or fall to be treated as, amounts by way of rent for the purposes of the said Chapter VI;

“qualifying premises” means, subject to subsections (4), (5) (a), (6) and (7) of section 53 , a house—

(a) the site of which is wholly within a qualifying resort area,

(b) which is used solely as a dwelling,

(c) the total floor area of which—

(i) is not less than 30 square metres and not more than 125 square metres in the case where the house is a separate self-contained flat or maisonette in a building of two or more storeys, or

(ii) is not less than 35 square metres and not more than 125 square metres in any other case,

(d) in respect of which, if it is not a new house (within the meaning of section 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 ) provided for sale, there is in force a certificate of reasonable cost, the amount specified in which in respect of the cost of construction of the house to which the certificate relates is not less than the expenditure actually incurred on such construction, and

(e) which, without having been used, is first let in its entirety under a qualifying lease and thereafter throughout the remainder of the relevant period (save for reasonable periods of temporary disuse between the ending of one qualifying lease and the commencement of another such lease) continues to be let under such a lease;

“relevant cost”, in relation to a house, means, subject to subsection (3), an amount equal to the aggregate of—

(a) the expenditure incurred on the acquisition of, or of rights in or over, any land on which the house is constructed, and

(b) the expenditure actually incurred on the construction of the house;

“relevant period”, in relation to a qualifying premises, means the period of 10 years beginning with the date of the first letting of the premises under a qualifying lease.

(2) Where a person, having made a claim in that behalf, proves to have incurred expenditure on the construction of a qualifying premises, such person shall be entitled, in computing, for the purposes of subsection (4) of section 81 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , the amount of a surplus or deficiency in respect of the rent from the said premises, to a deduction of so much (if any) of that expenditure as falls to be treated, under section 53 (9) or any of the provisions of this section, as having been incurred by such person in the qualifying period, and all the provisions of Chapter VI of Part IV of the said Act shall apply as if the said deduction were a deduction authorised by the provisions of subsection (5) of the said section 81.

(3) Where a qualifying premises forms part of a building or is one of a number of buildings in a single development, or forms part of a building which is itself one of a number of buildings in a single development, there shall be made such apportionment as is necessary—

(a) of the expenditure incurred on the construction of the said building or buildings, and

(b) of the amount which would be the relevant cost in relation to the said building or buildings if the building or buildings, as the case may be, were a single qualifying premises,

for the purposes of determining the expenditure incurred on the construction of the qualifying premises and the relevant cost in relation to the qualifying premises.

(4) Where a house is a qualifying premises and at any time during the relevant period in relation to the premises either of the following events occurs:

(a) the house ceases to be a qualifying premises, or

(b) the ownership of the lessor's interest in the house passes to any other person but the house does not cease to be a qualifying premises,

then the person who, before the occurrence of the event, received or was entitled to receive a deduction under subsection (2) in respect of expenditure incurred on the construction of the qualifying premises shall be deemed to have received on the day before the day of the occurrence an amount by way of rent from the qualifying premises equal to the amount of the deduction.

(5) (a) Where the event mentioned in subsection (4) (b) occurs in the relevant period in relation to a house which is a qualifying premises, the person to whom the ownership of the lessor's interest in the said house passes shall be treated, for the purposes of this section, as having incurred in the qualifying period an amount of expenditure on the construction of the said house equal to the amount which, under section 53 (9) or any of the provisions of this section, the said lessor was treated as having incurred in the qualifying period on the construction of the said house:

Provided that, in the case of a person who purchases such a house, the amount so treated as having been incurred by such person shall not exceed the relevant price paid by such person on the sale.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection and subsection (6), the relevant price paid by a person on the sale of a house shall be the amount which bears to the net price paid by such person on that sale the same proportion as the amount of the expenditure actually incurred on the construction of the house which falls to be treated under section 53 (9) as having been incurred in the qualifying period bears to the relevant cost in relation to that house.

(6) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), where expenditure is incurred on the construction of a house and before the house is used it is sold, the person who buys the house shall be treated, for the purposes of this section, as having incurred in the qualifying period expenditure on the construction of the house equal to the amount of such expenditure which falls to be treated under section 53 (9) as having been incurred in the qualifying period or the relevant price paid by such person on the sale, whichever is the lower:

Provided that, where the house is sold more than once before it is used, the provisions of this subsection shall have effect only in relation to the last of those sales.

(b) Where expenditure is incurred on the construction of a house by a person carrying on a trade or part of a trade which consists, as to the whole or any part thereof, of the construction of buildings with a view to their sale and the house, before it is used, is sold in the course of that trade or, as the case may be, that part of that trade, the person who buys the house shall be treated, for the purposes of this section, as having incurred in the qualifying period expenditure on the construction of the house equal to the relevant price paid by such person on the said sale (hereafter in this paragraph referred to as “the first sale”) and, in relation to any subsequent sale or sales of the house before the house is used, paragraph (a) shall have effect as if the reference to the amount of expenditure which falls to be treated as having been incurred in the qualifying period were a reference to the said relevant price paid on the first sale.

(7) The provisions of section 53 shall have effect for the purposes of supplementing this section.