VCONST14010 - Dwellings - an explanation of terms: about this section

The word dwelling isn’t defined. We apply the meaning given to the word in Uratemp Ventures Ltd v Collins ([2002] 1 All ER 46), a case under the Housing Act 1988. The House of Lords found that a ‘dwelling’ is:

a place where one lives, regarding and treating it as home.

For VAT purposes, however, the term ‘dwelling’ is used in a variety of contexts and is often used in combination with other words to identify a specific type of dwelling. The wording depends on the context. In summary:

Term	Context	Specific type of dwelling?
‘neither designed or adapted for use as a dwelling’	zero-rating - the status of a building before a non-residential conversion takes place	No (VCONST04410)
‘designed as a dwelling or number of dwellings’	zero-rating - the status of a building after construction or a residential conversion takes place	Yes (VCONST14100)
‘designed to remain as or become a dwelling or number of dwellings’	zero-rating - the status of a building after an approved alteration takes place	Yes (VCONST14300)
‘single household dwelling’	reduced-rating - the status of a building both before and after a conversion, or after a renovation, takes place	Yes (VCONST14400)
‘multiple occupancy dwelling’	reduced-rating - the status of a building both before and after a conversion, or after a renovation, takes place	Yes (VCONST14500)

This term is defined in the Value Added Tax Act 1994, Schedule 8, Group 5, Note 2.

The law generally refers to a ‘building’ rather than ‘buildings’. However, following the First-tier Tribunal decisions in Mark Catchpole (TC01995) and Mr T Fox (TC01957) HMRC has accepted that in certain cases, under the Interpretation Act, the term ‘building’ can refer to more than one building. For example, a dwelling can consist of more than one building. Throughout this guidance reference to building can also refer to buildings unless the context clearly indicates- otherwise.