CG64270 | Private residence relief: the entity of the dwelling-house: advice of Valuation Office

The Valuation Office (VO) can assist you in making your decision as to whether one building is within the curtilage of another by providing an opinion and, where appropriate, they can appear as an expert witness on the issue at any subsequent Tribunal hearing. However, the responsibility for concluding the question of whether one building is within the curtilage of another lies with the Inspector.

Where you are unable to reach agreement with the taxpayer on the question of curtilage and your decision has relied on or is supported by the opinion of the VO, you should inform the VO that the caseworker may be required to appear as an expert witness at any subsequent hearing of the appeal.

In the majority of cases the question of curtilage will only arise where the question of the permitted area is at issue (see CG64800+). In such cases you should follow the guidance at CG64878 and make a report to the Capital Gains Technical Group who will review the case and report to the Chief Executive’s Office of the VO to authorise a caseworker to appear as your expert witness at any appeal hearing. This procedure should also be followed in the unlikely event that the question of curtilage arises in a case where the permitted area is not an issue but you are unable to reach agreement with the taxpayer.