MC Trustees (PENSIONS) LIMITED Property Administration Guide MC Trustees Private Pension The information provided in this document is a summary of our requirements in respect of the purchase of commercial property within a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) held with MC Trustees. It is based on our understanding of current law and HM Revenue & Customs’ guidance at the date the document was prepared. It should not be relied upon for advice purposes or as a statement of fact or law. Please also note that current laws may change in the future. If you require further information, please contact your adviser or MC Trustees. Version 3 March 2014 Version 3 March 2014 Contents Summary of our Requirements 2 Part 1 What property your SIPP cannot buy Residential Property Conversion of commercial property to residential Other property we will not permit your SIPP to buy 3 3 3 Part 2 Buying a property, including costs and our charges Property Questionnaire 4 Property Valuation and Survey 4 Panel Solicitors 4 Cash balance 4 Insurance4 Property Purchase Requiring a Loan 4 Buying from You or a Connected Party 5 Lease5 Existing Tenants 5 Part 3 Charges and costs Our Charges 6 Other charges and costs 6 Stamp duty 6 VAT6 Part 4 Tenant and On-going Property Issues Lambert Smith Hampton 7 Property Management 7 Day to day contact with Tenants 7 Connected Tenants 7 Key responsibilities 7 Property works 8 Fixtures and fittings 8 Rent Collection 8 Service Charges 8 Rent Deposits 8 Rent Reviews 9 Invoices9 Development work 9 Part 5 Joint Ownership and Property Sales Joint Ownership Property Sale Version 3 March 2014 1 10 10 Summary of our Requirements Please see below a summary of our requirements – further information is provided later in this document. ■■ You will need to complete our Property Purchase Questionnaire before we can consider agreeing to a property purchase. We reserve the right to refuse an application. There are certain types of property you may not purchase in your SIPP, residential and overseas properties being the main restrictions. There are other restrictions with public houses, bed & breakfasts/hotels and land. The restrictions are explained later in this Guide. ■■ ■■ We require one of our panel solicitors to be appointed to deal with conveyancing and the preparation of leases and associated documentation. We require an open market valuation and open market rental value of the property before purchase. The valuation must include the reinstatement value of the property at the time of purchase. We recommend that the property be valued every three years following the date of purchase. All valuations must be carried out by a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Please note that the property must be valued when benefits are taken from the SIPP. ■■ ■■ We will obtain a quotation for property insurance from our insurance brokers. As legal owners of hundreds of commercial properties for our SIPP, we require all properties to be insured through the block policy. We review our block policy annually to ensure it remains competitive. ■■ Post completion, all properties will be administered on our behalf by Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH). This is included in our standard fees as set out in our Charges Schedule. Version 3 March 2014 2 ■■ Neither we nor LSH provide property management services. We strongly recommend you appoint a property manager if you do not live in the vicinity of the property to ensure the property remains in good condition. LSH can do this, subject to extra charges, and we will obtain a quote from them should you so wish. We reserve the right to insist on a property manager being appointed if the property becomes vacant as we need to ensure the condition of the property does not deteriorate whilst empty. ■■ We require a minimum cash balance of one quarter’s rent (or £5,000, whichever is higher) to be held in the SIPP bank account at all times. If the cash balance falls below this amount, we will ask you to make a contribution or to liquidate an asset to restore the minimum cash balance. If the property needs to be opted to tax, we will deal with the VAT registration and subsequent completion of VAT returns. ■■ ■■ We will not source a lender should borrowing be required to facilitate the purchase of the property, but we do have conditions which need to be included in facility letters and will liaise directly with the lender. Borrowing is limited to 50% of the net asset value of the SIPP under HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) legislation (with tax charges on the SIPP where breached). ■■ Post completion, the property title deeds and leases will be held by the solicitor who dealt with the conveyancing, or by the lending bank should there be a charge against the property. Part 1 Property your SIPP cannot buy Residential property A SIPP may not acquire any interest in residential property. If this happens, there are significant tax consequences on both the SIPP and you personally. Please see this link: www.hmrc.gov. uk/manuals/rpsmmanual/RPSM07109060.htm. These tax charges arise on acquisition and are not discretionary. There are also on-going tax implications. There are a few exceptions, but these are very strict. Please see our fact sheet “Residential Property and your SIPP” for more information, see Appendix 3. The intention to convert a residential property to commercial use is not sufficient reason to allow a purchase of that residential property by a SIPP. Similarly, the existence of planning permission to convert residential to commercial does not make the purchase acceptable. The determining factor is whether the property is residential when it is acquired by the SIPP. Holiday properties and buy-to-lets are residential and therefore prohibited. An intention to lease out the property on an arm’s length basis does not alter the fact that the property is residential. Conversion of commercial property to residential You cannot convert commercial property to residential. If you do, significant tax charges will arise on completion of the conversion. You may apply for planning permission to convert to residential, but works to convert must not be carried out whilst the property is owned by the SIPP. Please do not apply for planning permission without our agreement. Version 3 March 2014 3 Other property we will not permit your SIPP to buy ■■ Hotel rooms (including time-share properties); ■■ Overseas property; ■■ Nursing Homes; and ■■ Land banking promotions We do not permit land banking in SIPPs because it is very difficult to ascertain the true worth of the plots and there is evidence that in the past these have been sold at inflated prices through high pressure and unregulated sales. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have shut down a number of land banking firms because they have been operating illegally and are so concerned they have put a warning on their website. See the web-link address below: www.fca.org.uk/consumers/scams/investmentscams/land-banking We have similar concerns with hotel room investments. We will not normally permit the purchase of: Land or woodland next to or near to your house (see Appendix 4 “Buying land or woodland near to your house”); ■■ ■■ Bed and Breakfast or Public House premises, as these are likely to be viewed as residential (see Appendix 3 “Residential Property and your SIPP” for an explanation of the only circumstances where we will consider permitting such properties to be purchased); or Vacant property (unless there is an agreed tenant to occupy). ■■ Part 2 Buying a property, including costs and our charges Property questionnaire In order to determine whether the proposed property is acceptable as a SIPP asset, you must complete our Property Purchase Questionnaire (PPQ). The PPQ asks for details of the property, the purchaser(s), the tenants, and the VAT position. It also contains the declarations we require all purchasers to make. Upon receipt of the completed PPQ, we will determine whether the property is acceptable as a SIPP asset and, if it is, we will contact the relevant parties to commence the purchase. Property valuation and survey In all cases, we will require sight of a full “Red Book” valuation of the property confirming: ■■ Description of the property; An assessment of the property with recommendation as to whether a full structural and/or asbestos survey is required; ■■ A full schedule of recommended repairs if required; ■■ ■■ Re-instatement value of the property for insurance purposes; ■■ Open market value of the property; and ■■ Open market rental value of the property. The surveyor must be an independent, professionally qualified individual, Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) or equivalent. The survey report must be addressed to us so that we can rely on it in the future. If the SIPP is borrowing, the lending bank will require the surveyor to be one on their panel; this is acceptable provided the report is also addressed to us. We will also require a copy of site-specific Asbestos Survey (requirement of CAWR 2006) (where applicable). Panel Solicitors We have appointed the following panel solicitors: ■■ Lyons Davidson contact Catherine Turner ■■ Gateley LLP contact Elly Duggins Solicitor fees for property purchase and related services are summarised at Appendix 2. You Version 3 March 2014 4 must use one of these solicitors for purchasing property in your MC Trustees’ SIPP. Cash balance We require a minimum of one quarter’s rent or £5,000, (whichever is higher) to be held in the SIPP bank account at all times. This provides liquidity for payment of invoices, insurance etc. where they are the responsibility of the Landlord. Should the cash available fall below the minimum required, we will require a contribution to be made or another asset of the SIPP to be liquidated in order to provide the cash. Insurance Properties must be placed on cover at exchange of contracts. The premium will be settled by the tenant, unless the property is vacant or the terms of the lease state otherwise. Property purchase requiring a loan If your SIPP needs to borrow money to assist with the property purchase, you must ensure that all borrowing does not exceed 50% of the net asset value of the SIPP, in accordance with HMRC legislation. This limit includes all existing borrowing by your SIPP. Example A SIPP already holds a property with borrowing. The assets are as follows: ■■ a property with a market value of £200,000 a loan of £50,000 still outstanding with a bank ■■ ■■ cash of £100,000 The net value of the SIPP is £250,000 (the £300,000 assets minus the outstanding loan of £50,000). The maximum borrowing permitted under HMRC rules is £125,000. But as there is an existing loan of £50,000, the SIPP can only borrow a further £75,000. The HMRC test is applied at the date of completion, not on receipt of the Property Purchase Questionnaire (PPQ) or exchange of contracts. Please bear this in mind when calculating whether you can borrow enough to acquire your chosen property, taking into account the different costs and taxes potentially due. Please note that the value of the property being purchased is not included in the valuation of the SIPP. We will contact your chosen lender on receipt of the completed PPQ and inform them how the loan is to be structured. Lease If the property is not being purchased with the benefit of an existing lease, the solicitor will prepare a new lease which will be on a fully repairing and insuring basis. The lease will include details of the term, the rent amount, the rent review date, insurance and details of possible service charges. It will also set out the respective tenant and landlord on-going responsibilities. We have various conditions, including the way the title is registered and a limitation of our liability to the assets of your pension fund. The limitation wording is there to ring-fence the SIPP’s liability from all other members. We will discuss our requirements directly with your chosen lender. Once the lease has been drafted and agreed, it will be signed by MC Nominees Limited as the landlord and by the tenant. The original lease will be held by our panel solicitor. A copy of the signed and dated lease will be supplied to the tenant and to you the Member. The solicitor will liaise with the lender in respect of any Legal Charge required. Existing Tenants Important: If your SIPP defaults on the required loan repayments because there is insufficient cash in your SIPP to meet the required payments, your property may be repossessed. Buying property from you or from a Connected Party A SIPP can buy property from you or a connected party, but the transaction must be at market value (the definition of “Connected Party” is as set out in Section 993 of Income Tax Act 2007). The transaction must be supported by an independent valuation by a RICS valuer. If the SIPP buys at an over value (or we sell at an under value), both you and the SIPP will be taxed on the difference. We will not knowingly do this. We can lease property to your business or a connected party but the annual rental income must be supported by an independent valuation Version 3 March 2014 and a commercial lease. See the Connected Tenant section in Part 4 on page 7. 5 Should there be a lease in place at the time of purchase, this will remain until the end of the term. The existing lease may allow for nonquarterly payment periods and the terms of the insurance may also differ from our standard lease. It is important that the required RICS property market valuation reflects the terms of the existing lease. We would expect the valuer to reference these existing terms in their report. LSH will contact the tenant following completion of the property purchase to advise them about the new landlord and also to direct payment of rent to LSH. Part 3 Charges and costs Our charges Our charges for property purchase and associated activities are set out in our charging structure, a copy of which is attached at Appendix 1. The charges quoted are for standard property purchase administration, and include our ongoing charges as well as costs on acquisition. We reserve the right to charge for additional services on a time-cost basis relevant to the expertise and seniority of our staff involved. We will provide an estimate of all such additional charges as applicable. Unless we advise you to the contrary, all work carried out by LSH on our behalf is covered by our standard property fees. Other charges and costs In addition to the purchase price of the property, you must consider: ■■ The solicitor’s fees (see Appendix 2); ■■ Stamp Duty Land Tax; ■■ VAT that may be payable on purchase; ■■ Valuer/surveyor costs, and any costs for environmental reports; ■■ IFA or, if borrowing, bank fees; and ■■ Our requirement that at least £5,000 cash (or one quarter’s rent if higher) is held after purchase in the SIPP bank account. Stamp duty Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is due on commercial properties as follows: Version 3 March 2014 Purchase Price SDLT Rate £0 to £150,000 Zero £150,001 to £250,000 1.00% £250,001 to £500,000 3.00% Over £500,000 4.00% 6 Where a property is transferred into the SIPP as an in-specie contribution, then SDLT will be payable on the value of the property as stated in the transfer deed. Where the SIPP only purchases part of a property, SDLT will be payable on the value of the share purchased. Where property is contributed ‘inspecie’ in stages, we will need to take advice to ensure the staged transactions do not represent linked transactions for SDLT purposes. VAT The SIPP can register for VAT if the property to be purchased is opted to tax. If the SIPP is already VAT registered we will need to complete an option to tax form in respect of the property to be purchased. We will complete the VAT registration and any option to tax documentation. We will also complete the quarterly VAT returns. If the property is opted to tax, VAT is chargeable on the rent and on all expenses of the landlord which are reclaimable from the tenant. Part 4 Tenant and on-going property issues Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) Connected tenants Following completion of the purchase of the property, the administration of the property will be carried out by LSH. (www.lsh.co.uk). Where there is a tenant that is connected to you (for example, a business that you control), then, there is a potential for a conflict of interest. Our main contact at LSH is Chris Berry and he can be contacted by email at [email protected] or by telephone on 020 7198 2357. To deal with this conflict of interest, it is important you understand and accept that all relationships between the SIPP and tenant are carried out on a fully arm’s length basis. The property must always be administered in the best interests of the SIPP. Their duties include: ■■ Collection and disbursement of rent; ■■ Collection and distribution of service charges; ■■ Rent deposits; ■■ Payment of insurance premiums by the tenant; ■■ Implementation of rent reviews; ■■ Day to day contact with tenants when necessary; Liaising with Tenants regarding rent arrears and appointing litigation solicitors if necessary; ■■ ■■ Payment of any maintenance invoices and reclaim from the tenant if applicable; ■■ Sale of the property at the due time. There are also a number of other important issues of which you need to be aware. Our fact sheet “Leasing Commercial Property from your SIPP” explains these issues in more detail and is attached at Appendix 5. Key responsibilities The important points from Appendix 5 are: A fully commercial lease must be signed before the property is occupied and the rental terms must be supported by an open market valuation prepared by an independent RICS qualified surveyor. The solicitor handling the purchase will deal with the drafting of a new lease if required. ■■ As all dealings with the SIPP must be on arm’s length commercial terms we outsource all ongoing work relating to your occupation of the property to an arm’s length commercial property administrator, LSH. There is no extra fee for their involvement. ■■ Property management Neither we nor LSH will manage the property. A property manager actively manages the property, to preserve the value of the property and its income potential. We strongly recommend you appoint a property manager. We are likely to insist that a property manager be appointed in the following circumstances: ■■ Where you or a party connected to you is leasing the property and rental arrears arise; ■■ The property becomes vacant; or ■■ There is borrowing which goes into default because there is no cash in the SIPP to fund loan repayments. Version 3 March 2014 ■■ You must inform LSH immediately if you are struggling to make rental payments due. You must clear in advance with LSH any proposed work on the property. ■■ ■■ You cannot convert the property to residential and we cannot own any items that are not fixed (and are what HMRC call ‘tangible moveable property’). Please see the link to the HMRC website for further explanation www.hmrc.gov. uk/manuals/rpsmmanual/RPSM07109120.htm). Day to day contact with tenants ■■ You must ensure the property is maintained to an acceptable standard as required by the lease (once signed). LSH will have full contact details of the tenants and should any problems arise, LSH will be the first point of contact. ■■ Prior to any sub-letting, you must obtain the approval of the landlord (which must be permitted by the lease). If the matter can be resolved immediately, LSH will notify you that the issue has been concluded. If the matter cannot be resolved immediately, LSH may need to discuss the matter directly with you and/or us. ■■ You must inform us immediately if the property is vacated and ensure the property is protected following vacation. We will provide you with a guide informing you what is required by the insurers to ensure the insurance is not invalidated. 7 Property works The SIPP can only pay for work that is the landlord’s responsibility. All work must be cleared in advance with LSH. Also, we must appoint the contractor, and pay them directly from the SIPP. You must not take any commission or fee from the contractor. Fixtures and fittings We are not permitted to buy or own any item that is moveable (what HMRC defines as ‘tangible moveable property’ see link above). Acquiring such assets triggers tax charges in exactly the same way as residential property (collectively HMRC refers to both residential property and tangible moveable property as ‘taxable property’ and taxes them accordingly). In the context of commercial property, anything that is viewed as a ‘chattel’ will generally be classed as ‘tangible moveable property’. Common examples include: ■■ furniture; ■■ carpets; ■■ plant & machinery; ■■ white goods; and ■■ solar panels. Generally speaking such assets should be tenant expenses and should not be acquired by the SIPP as landlord. If in doubt, please check with LSH. Rent collection Rent will be collected by LSH on the usual quarter days which are for England, Wales and Ireland 25 March, 24 June, 29 September and 25 December. For Scotland the dates are 28 February, 28 May, 28 August and 28 November. The rent collection dates may be different should the lease be in existence prior to the property being purchased. LSH will transfer the rent collected to your SIPP bank account usually within a maximum 4 working days of receipt. Should rent not be received, LSH will contact the tenant to request immediate payment. LSH will check the terms of the lease for any late payment interest due and will invoice the tenant accordingly. Version 3 March 2014 8 If the tenant falls into serious arrears, the matter will be referred to the solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing and in extreme cases the matter will be placed into the hands of a bailiff for repossession of the property. This applies to both connected and non-connected tenants, although with the latter we will usually be led by your instructions. Where the tenant is either you or your business, or any other party connected to you, please read our “Leasing Commercial Property from your SIPP” for further details, a copy of which is attached at Appendix 5. Service charges Any service charge that forms part of the lease agreement will be administered by LSH. Rent deposits Should there be a requirement under the terms of the lease for a rent deposit, the solicitor will prepare the rent deposit deed and LSH will arrange for the deposit to be held in an interest bearing account. Repayment of the rent deposit will be made at the end of the term of the lease (or in accordance with the terms of the lease), provided that the tenant has complied with the terms of the lease. Rent reviews All rent reviews will be upwards only, and will be carried out in accordance with the terms of the lease: ■■ Connected Tenant At the appropriate date, in accordance with the terms of the lease, LSH will prepare a rental valuation. LSH will communicate the results to us, you, the member and the tenant and prepare and obtain signatures on a Rent Review Memorandum (RRM), following which the rent will be invoiced at the revised amount. ■■ Unconnected Tenant At the appropriate date, in accordance with the terms of the lease, LSH will contact the tenant to discuss the proposed revision to the current rent. LSH will liaise with you, the member as appropriate. Upon agreement LSH will prepare and obtain signatures on an RRM, following which the rent will be invoiced at the revised amount. ■■ Should agreement not be reached with the tenant, LSH will follow the terms of the lease relating to the resolution of rent disputes. Invoices Any invoices relating to the property (which could include business rates, refurbishment, and insurance) will be forwarded to LSH who will assess these for payment. If LSH conclude that the invoice is a legitimate expense of the landlord, it will request funds from us and pay the invoice. If the tenant is liable to reimburse the landlord for payment, LSH will deal with the reimbursement. Development work If you intend to do any development work to the property you need to consider whether there are any ‘trading’ issues. ■■ Development work This should be supervised by an architect or building surveyor. We would require details of the proposed building works and costs. The developer and architect should provide legal warranties to the SIPP confirming the work they are doing, the standards and time-scales involved, as well as details of their insurance cover. The architect or supervisor must confirm that the work has been completed to a certain stage and will advise that a stage payment can be made. Trading income and gain is declarable to HMRC, with tax due. Maintenance of the property For example, buying land, enhancing it by obtaining planning permission and selling on quickly could be construed as trading by HMRC. This is more likely if the activity mirrors your personal business (for example you are a property developer) or you buy and sell on a regular basis. Where dealing with maintenance of the property under the terms of a lease, the first consideration is always whether the works proposed are the responsibility of the landlord or the tenant. We would be advised by LSH here. Where landlord’s work, we would expect you to clear any work in advance with LSH. We cannot provide tax advice and recommend you obtain such advice if you are in any doubt. The SIPP can only pay for work that is landlord’s responsibility and must be cleared with LSH in advance. Please note that we must appoint the contractor, and pay them directly. You must also not take any commission or fee from the contractor. There are also the following further considerations: Arm’s length contractor We expect the proposed contractors to be unconnected to you. ■■ Asbestos Where work is being done on a property we must ensure that an asbestos survey has been carried out and we have the findings of that survey. Where asbestos is confirmed as being present prior to the commencement of the work we must have a copy of the Management Plan and confirmation that any contractors working on site have received a copy of this plan. ■■ Version 3 March 2014 Costs The capital costs of any development, improvement or modification of property held by the SIPP must be paid by the SIPP and carried out by an unconnected party. We would expect that capital costs paid by the SIPP be reflected in an uplift in the market rent paid by the tenant and we will require an independent valuation for this. ■■ 9 Part 5 Joint ownership and property sales Joint ownership Property sale It is possible for your SIPP to jointly hold property with other SIPP members, or with parties outside the SIPP (including you or your business). LSH will deal with all property sales. However, there are a number of considerations and conditions: Co-ownership agreement A co-ownership agreement must be agreed and signed by all parties. This should outline who is responsible for what, how decisions are made and managed and outline the procedure when one party wishes to sell or retire (or dies). The solicitor dealing with the purchase will be instructed to agree this before completion. ■■ Co-owner’s borrowing Where the co-owner is borrowing (or has already borrowed) to buy the property, there must not be any outstanding loan secured on the property on completion (or if there is, the lender has agreed to limit their recourse to the share owned by that co-owner so that the bank could not look to the other owner to meet any debt. This is often referred to as a ‘non-recourse’ loan. ■■ If the co-owner’s loan is effectively secured against the SIPP’s interest, it would be viewed as SIPP borrowing under tax rules (subject to the overall limit) or, where the co-owner is you or a connected party, an effective transfer of value to you as it prejudices the value of your SIPP’s interest. We will ask the solicitor to check on this before completion. SIPP borrowing Where a number of our SIPP members are buying a property together and are jointly borrowing from a bank, then all those SIPPs will be jointly liable for that loan. As such, if you maintain payments but your co-owners do not, your share of the property could be at risk. ■■ Managing agent We would normally require a managing agent to be appointed to manage the property where there is co-ownership with a party outside the SIPP. ■■ Version 3 March 2014 10 LSH will notify the solicitor who will prepare the appropriate documentation for signature by us. Upon completion of the sale, the proceeds will be banked in the member’s pension bank account. LSH will notify the tenants (if applicable) that we are no longer the landlord and that rent standing orders payable to LSH should be cancelled. Insurance on the property will be cancelled by LSH. Should there be a loan in place, the solicitor dealing with the sale will contact the lender to obtain the redemption amount and this will be settled from the proceeds of sale on the date of completion. The legal charge will then be removed. Where we are selling to you or a party connected to you we will require the sale price and terms to be supported by an independent open market property valuation carried out by a member of RICS.. Version 3 March 2014 11 MC Trustees (PENSIONS) LIMITED If you would like a copy of this document in larger print, please contact us on 01675 444 600. The SIPPs operated by MC Trustees (Pensions) Limited are the MC Trustees Private Pension (incorporating the Simple SIPP) and the MC Trustees Self Invested Pension. Tel: 01675 444 600 Fax: 01675 444 601 Email: [email protected] Website: www.mctrustees.co.uk MC Trustees (Pensions) Limited is registered in England at Enterprise House, Meadow Drive, Hampton in Arden, West Midlands B92 0BD. Co Reg No 05575694 MC Trustees (Pensions) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number 461226) to establish, operate and wind up personal pensions. Version 3 March 2014
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