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A person’s ‘residential property interest�, means an interest in a dwelling-house which has been the person’s residence at a time when their estate included that, or any other, interest in that  dwelling-house (IHTA84/S8H(2)).

Whilst the definition of ‘dwelling-house� clearly includes a building of the fixed bricks-and-mortar type of property, where an asset, such as a static caravan or a houseboat, has demonstrably been used as an individual’s residence you can accept it as being a dwelling-house for the purposes of the residence nil-rate band. Each case will depend on its facts.                                                                               

A dwelling-house includes any land occupied and enjoyed with it as its gardens or grounds, but does not include any trees or underwood to which an election for ‘woodlands relief� under IHTA84/S125 (IHTM04121) applies in relation to that person’s death (IHTA84/S8H(5)).

IHTA84/S8H(6) provides for the situation where a person’s estate includes a dwelling-house, but that person resides in living accommodation which is job-related (within the meaning of TCGA92/S222(8A) to S222(8D), but not S222(9) of that Act). If that person intended to occupy the dwelling-house as his residence in due course, then that intention will be taken as satisfying the requirement for occupation of the dwelling-house as a residence.