Newton's OpticThere are plenty of creative ways to get your landlord to redecorate a rented house, writes Newton Emerson
It's the question property experts across the country are asking: just how do you spend £30,000 on stamp duty to redecorate a rented house? There are several completely straightforward explanations.
When you first move into a house, whether you rent it or own it, or both or neither, you have a duty to stamp your own personality on the property by spending £30,000 on a total redecoration. This should cover all the relevant expenses, including whitewash, skirting, rot and curtains. However, older properties can suffer from ongoing subsidence, so keep plenty of cash on hand to paper over the cracks.
Many rented houses are unfurnished. If you decide to import mail-order furniture from abroad, such as a self-assembly bed from Manchester which you will have to make and eventually lie on, then you might need to spend a great deal of money on duty and stamps. Particularly heavy items to watch out for include seats, cabinets, benches and washing machines. You won't be really settled in until you've done the laundry!
But is it possible to spend £30,000 on actual stamp duty to redecorate a rented house? Again, there are several completely straightforward explanations. Suppose your landlord decides that you've spent so much money fixing up the house that it's a shame you don't own it yourself. So he agrees to sell it to you in a couple of years, providing you look after the place by spending a further £50,000 on redecoration in the meantime. Obviously, in a fast-rising market, you'd be a fool not to put some money aside in case the sale incurs stamp duty when it finally goes through, especially if the landlord offers to give you the £30,000 himself as soon as you've moved in.
This sum is usually referred to as "the deposit", although it is usually much smaller and paid by the tenant to the landlord. Alternatively, suppose you spend a total of £80,000 redecorating a rented house which you subsequently buy. The money you spend improving the property could push its market value over the stamp duty threshold, thereby adding an extra £30,000 to the final sale price. In this way you could, theoretically, be said to have spent £30,000 on stamp duty to redecorate a rented house. If you have any concerns about this theory, do not raise them with your progressive solicitor.
There is the small matter of how to spend £80,000 merely redecorating an average-sized family home when this is roughly what it would cost to knock down and rebuild. However, tenants in rented property always spend far more on decor than on structural repairs, which is why sales of colourful load-bearing wallpaper have boomed in recent years. Indeed, it is widely believed that whole areas of Dublin are held up by nothing else.
The important thing is not to let these questions spoil the enjoyment of your new home. Take a very early morning drive through Phoenix Park. Invite a neighbour over for a Battle of the Boyne barbecue. And if someone calls around to canvass for the election while you're in, be sure to send them away. You haven't time for any of that nonsense right now. Can't they see you're redecorating?