Q&A

Your property questions answered

Must I pay stamp duty if I'm going away for two years?

I have the opportunity of taking a career break of up to two years. During that time I want to teach abroad and, to give myself some security, I intend to buy an apartment before I head off. As I will be coming back and intend the apartment for my own use, surely I do not have to pay stamp duty? I am not an investor is the usual sense.

You don't say what you intend to do with the apartment in your absence. If you buy it and leave it empty and can prove that you have done so then you shouldn't have to pay stamp duty.

However, that's a fairly unlikely scenario and your intention is probably to rent the apartment out to cover some, if not all, of the mortgage.

If anecdotal evidence is to be believed, buyers in your situation used to rent out their homes in an informal, cash-based way for the duration of their absence, declare themselves owner-occupiers and so evading stamp duty.

However, times have changed. Revenue is more clued into the private rental sector and tenants are entitled to leases, to claim a tax break and generally have enough choice out there in a well-supplied new apartment market not to want to get involved in any sort of underhand carry on. Also, legally, landlords have to register their properties with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) so that is no longer an option.

Apart from the income tax implications - you must declare the rental income received - there are a number of other issues involved. Both your lender and your insurer will want to know about the status of the apartment - owner-occupied or rental.

Once you rent the apartment out, you are not an owner-occupier and so must pay the stamp duty - it doesn't matter that you intend to come back at some stage to live in it.

Should we stay quiet about extension without planning?

Some years ago we built an extension on the back of our house without planning permission. We now want to sell up. Do we have to tell prospective buyers about the lack of planning or can we stay quiet and hope that it goes unnoticed?

You don't have to tell buyers anything - but when it comes to extensions without planning, they'll find out anyway through their surveyor and conveyancing solicitor.

When that happens, the sale will be at best delayed or at worst prospective buyers will be put off completely.

People often get panicked about planning permission but not everything requires it. It could be that you didn't need it in the first place, so before you do anything, check with the planning department of your local authority.

If it transpires that you should have applied for planning in the first instance, you should apply for retention before you put the house on the market.

Allow for around two months for the whole process to go through. That's the simplest thing to do.

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• Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.