Q&A

Your property questions answered

Do we pay CG Tax on unoccupied house?

Q Last year we retired and moved to a small house in the country. Our house in Dublin has been on the market for 10 months. I understand there is a “grace period” of 12 months that allows people to sell their homes without incurring Capital Gains Tax on the sale. This was the family home for over 25 years and there would be substantial capital gain on the sale – even in this market. Also we have not rented it during the sales process.

A The last 12 months of ownership is regarded by Revenue for Capital Gains purposes as a period occupation – which essentially means you have 12 months to sell your home before you incur a Capital Gains Tax liability. So if it goes over the year mark then, yes, you will have to pay Capital Gains Tax although it is calculated on a proportional basis. So if, for example, the house sold 14 months after it ceased to be your main residence, then you would be taxed on equivalent to two months worth of gain or as Revenue explain: “Mary purchases a house on 1 January 2000 and occupies it as her main residence until 31 December 2005. She sells it on 30 June 2007. The exempt proportion of the gain is 14/15ths which refers to the actual period of occupancy (six years) and final 12 months = seven years out of 7.5 years of ownership. The balance of the gain, ie 1/15th (which equates to six months of ownership) will incur Capital Gains Tax.

My neighbour’s camper van is so ugly

Q W e live in an estate where each house has a short drive in in the front garden – just enough room for a single car. The family two doors down have bought a large white camper van – not a caravan – and it is parked in their drive. It is visually very ugly. I can't, for example, look down the street from my front door any more. What do others do in this situation? I have noticed it in other areas and people can't be happy.

A The rules governing the keeping of a caravan or campervan in a garden without planning permission are straightforward. You can’t have more than one caravan, there can be no commercial usage, it cannot be used as a dwelling while it is stored, and it cannot be there for longer than nine months in any year. What is not so straightforward – and what you presumably don’t know – is how long your neighbours intend to store the van there. They may be planning to go away in it for three months during the summer, in which case they will comply with the nine-month rule.

If you don’t want to approach them directly to express your concerns (you might enlist the help of your own next door neighbour who lives closest to this family), you could contact them through the residents association (if you have one) or contact the planning department of your local authority for advice – although there is little they can do at this stage.

You’ll just have to monitor the usage of the van to build a case – if need be – to put to your local authority in the future.

Your questions

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