Residential letting as a trade not investment

[marc02]

Where there is a portfolio of properties, which are all residential lets and have been held for many years, is it possible to establish the company has a trading company by offering services to the tenants similar to that of a holiday let. For example offering portridge, towels, cleaning, gardening, et cetera and thereby a huge amount of the company activity and trade activity is letting and managing the properties.

Would such activity entitle the business to relief such as entrepreneur relief, and business property relief so far as IHT is concerned?

[pawncob]

Yes it would.
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/property-income-manual/pim4300

[AdamS93]

I believe you will have a business (much wider definition than a trade) not a trade - well in relation to the letting income.

For most of the reliefs you mention you need to have a trade which you would not meet unless you met the furnished holiday let conditions.

See pawncobs link ‘Although property income is now computed like trading income, letting is still not a trade.’

Additional income from the additional services will be treated as a trade.