How is CGT calculated if I turn a second home into my main residence?

It sounds as though your former second home (which I shall refer to as Property 2) will not be your main residence for the whole period you own it.

This means that when you sell it, any gain in its value will be apportioned for tax purposes between the period in which it was your second home and the period in which it was your main residence. The first part of the gain would be liable to CGT, whereas PPR should apply to the second part. This apportionment is calculated as though the property’s gain in value accrued evenly over your whole period of ownership, so there is therefore no need for a formal valuation of Property 2 at the time it becomes your main residence.

To illustrate with an example: if you bought Property 2 for £500,000 in June 2021, moved into it in June 2024 — and it is your main residence from that time — and sell it for £550,000 in June 2029, then three eighths of the total gain in value (£18,750) will be taxable (because it was not your main residence for the first three years of the eight you owned it for) and five eighths of the gain (£31,250) will qualify for PPR. You may then be able to deduct your CGT annual exemption (£3,000 at the time of writing) and certain tax-deductible costs. The remaining amount would be subject to CGT at the present rate of 18 per cent or the higher rate of 24 per cent (depending on your total annual income and gains).

One further wrinkle here is that if you own more than one residence, it can be possible to nominate one of them as your main residence for PPR purposes. As a general rule, it does not matter whether that particular residence is in fact your main residence (provided that it is one of your residences). There are, however, some strict rules around making such an election, including a requirement that the nomination must be submitted to HMRC within two years of the date a person’s combination of residences changes, so it would be sensible to seek professional advice before taking this route.
James Bromley, senior associate, Farrer & Co

How do I remove dried Ronseal stains from my chalet’s exterior wall?

I applied Ronseal waterproof decking protector to the wooden decking around my chalet. Unfortunately I didn’t notice that in applying the product I left a few brown splashes on a cream-coloured, metal-clad wall — I failed to notice the splashes before they dried. I have tried to remove the stains with substances like white spirit, but to no avail. I have also contacted Ronseal but they were unable to help. Can you suggest anything that would remove the stains? The chalet is an ABI Elan model.
Richard Prescott

Water-based sealants, paints and stains will not readily dissolve in white spirit but may dissolve in alcohols such as ethanol. Ronseal does not publish details of the chemical make-up of its waterproof decking protector, but most such products are made using acrylic resins as the primary ingredient, and these will often dissolve in ethanol.

You can buy pure ethanol online. For example, a 100ml bottle costs £7.99 from amazon.co.uk.

Ethanol will evaporate too quickly to work if applied as a liquid, so to give it time to dissolve the stain try using an ethanol poultice. You can make a poultice yourself by mixing pure ethanol with an absorbent material such as talcum powder or baking soda to form a paste. Apply the paste directly on to the stain and cover with clingfilm, taped in place to slow down the evaporation. Leave for 15-20 minutes or until dry and then clean the paste off with a clean cloth or brush. If the stain does not come off first time, try again but leave the poultice on for longer.

It’s always a good idea to test any stain-removal product on a small, inconspicuous area first. When working with ethanol, always take appropriate precautions and wear PPE including gloves to protect your hands and eyewear, and wear a mask if working indoors. Be aware that ethanol is highly flammable.
Michael Holmes, property expert for the Homebuilding & Renovating Show. Free tickets for an event near you can be claimed at homebuildingshow.co.uk/pr-sundaytimes

How do I deter mice from my log store?

Is there a humane method? I don’t want to use traps of any kind. Does peppermint oil really work?
DC, Epsom

I’m afraid I’m very sceptical of scent deterrents for anything. There seems to be precious little firm evidence that mice find peppermint objectionable, or that they avoid it. If the mice were seeking out some subtle-smelling foodstuff, then cloaking it in dense clouds of highly aromatic mint might interfere with their ability to find it. But unless you keep something they can eat in there, I suspect they are merely seeking shelter in your log store — it’s somewhere for them to roost or nest.

The first thing to check is that you have no inadvertent food spills there. This may include seeds, fruits or other edible material brought in by other animals or birds. Next discourage them from nesting in suitable crannies by blocking (or opening up) tight spaces — easier said than done for these small, flexible creatures.

Humans and mice have been at odds with each other since the dawn of agriculture about 12,000 years ago, when they first invaded grain stores in north Africa and the Middle East. There is tenuous evidence that the word “mouse” has a root in the Sanskrit “mus”, of which one meaning is “thief”.

Deadly spring-loaded traps are cheap, quick and efficient. Humane mouse traps, which catch the animal alive, are also available — then you have to decide what to do with your captive. Let it out nearby and it will soon find its way back inside. Take it far away and release it “into the wild” and you place it in an alien territory full of predators — the mouse won’t last long. Getting a cat should keep the problem at arm’s (paw’s) length.
Richard Jones is the author of House Guests, House Pests (Bloomsbury £18.99), bugmanjones.com

Are our neighbours responsible for maintaining a shared path?

Five years ago, my partner and I bought a house with a back garden. There’s a long path at the bottom of the garden, coming from a public road at the back, that splits into two separate branches: one leads into our garden, the other leads to our neighbours’ house. When we bought the property, we verbally agreed with our neighbours that we would split the cost of maintaining the path equally. Now they are saying they shouldn’t have to contribute to the payment since they rarely use it. Without a written contract, is there any way to get them to contribute to the cost?
Philip, Kent

If the path is fairly low maintenance, it may be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut to ask the court to intervene. On a cost/benefit basis it may be better to avoid a dispute with your neighbours and, at the very least, maintain the section of the path that you use.

Otherwise, if this is something you feel is worth getting the court involved in, you would need to first determine whether any part of the path from the public road at the rear of the properties is shared between your home and your neighbours’ home, or whether it immediately branches off into two separate paths from the public road to service each individual property.

Assuming the rear public road is adopted and maintained by the highway authority, the starting point would be to consider whether there is anything in the title deeds that may assist. For example, if there is anything that shows the paths are on the separate titles to the two properties. If the two paths are on the individual titles, you may think that each owner is responsible for maintaining their part of the two paths, but this requires careful investigation and consideration.

If the position is not clear or straightforward, you should consider if there are any rights (easements) that either property owner has over the land in question, which may or may not come with express requirements to contribute to repair costs.

If the position is still unclear, you should reconsider if the informal agreement made between you and your neighbours to equally split the cost of maintaining the path can be binding on them and any future owners. At face value, it may not be — although more detail on its nature and the understanding of the parties may be required.
John Midgley, partner, Seddons

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Readers’ clinic

How do I get yellowed pillowcases white again? I don’t want to use bleach, as some have a coloured trim.
Michelle Reeve

My friend swears by putting things outside in full sunlight to remove stains. If we get a good summer, perhaps that will work for your pillowcases.
Pam Baird, Fife

I recently discovered that a dishwasher tablet in the laundry works amazingly well. I used it with a wool pillow and pillow protector and was able to dry them on a gorgeous sunny day. Both were like new.
Wendy Woollaston, Hereford

I put two washing-liquid measures of soda crystals in a washing-up bowl and dissolve with a little hot water. Then I dilute that — so the bowl is about a third full — with cold water and soak items for about 12 hours. I then wash on an extra rinse cycle, but with no detergent.
Mrs White

Future question

What can I do with leftover bits of a soap bar that are too grubby to leave out in the dish?

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