Replacement of Domestic Items Relief

Replacement of domestic items relief lets a residential landlord deduct the cost of replacing furniture, furnishings, appliances and kitchenware in a let property against rental income. It only covers genuine replacements, not the cost of furnishing a property for the first time, and it is capped at the cost of a reasonable modern equivalent if you choose to upgrade rather than replace like for like.

This guide sets out the conditions the relief requires, what it covers, how the like-for-like cap works in practice, and where it does not apply. It is a companion to our wider landlord allowable expenses guide, which covers the full range of costs a landlord can deduct.

Why the relief exists

Ordinarily, the cost of furniture and equipment used in a business would be a capital cost, not something you can deduct in full against income in the year you spend it. Replacement of domestic items relief is a specific exception carved out for residential landlords, allowing a revenue-style deduction for replacing movable domestic items even though, strictly, buying a new fridge or sofa is capital expenditure. Before this relief existed in its current form, landlords of furnished properties instead used a flat 10% wear and tear allowance regardless of what they actually spent; that allowance was withdrawn, and this relief, based on actual replacement cost, took its place.

The conditions

Four conditions need to be met for a cost to qualify:

1. You must be letting a dwelling. The relief applies to a UK or overseas property business that includes letting a residential property. It does not extend to commercial lettings, which instead use ordinary capital allowances rules, covered in our capital allowances on mixed use guide for landlords with both residential and commercial elements in the same building.
2. An old item is being replaced with a new one for the tenant's use. The new item must be provided for the tenant's use in that same dwelling, and the old item must no longer be available for use there, whether because it was thrown away, sold, or handed over as part of the deal.
3. The cost would otherwise be blocked as capital expenditure. The relief only overrides the usual rule against deducting capital costs; it does not change anything for a cost that was already a straightforward revenue repair.
4. No capital allowance has been claimed on the item. You cannot claim both a capital allowance and this relief on the same piece of expenditure, though this rarely comes up for a standard residential let, since capital allowances are not normally available on items inside a dwelling in the first place.

What counts

The relief covers movable items provided for the tenant's use, including:

• Free-standing furniture such as beds, wardrobes, sofas and tables.
• Furnishings such as curtains, carpets and linens.
• Household appliances such as fridges, washing machines, cookers and televisions.
• Kitchenware such as crockery and cutlery, where these are provided as part of the letting.

Fixtures that are integral to the building, such as a fitted kitchen unit, a boiler, or a bathroom suite, are treated differently. Replacing these on a like-for-like basis is generally a revenue repair deductible in full under ordinary allowable expense rules, rather than falling under this specific relief, because they are part of the fabric of the property rather than a movable domestic item. The distinction matters less for the tax outcome, since both routes usually give a full deduction for a like-for-like job, but it is worth understanding which rule you are actually relying on if HMRC ever asks.

The like-for-like cap

You can deduct the cost of the new item, plus incidental costs such as delivery, installation and disposing of the old one, less anything you received for the old item such as a trade-in or scrap value. If the new item is a genuine upgrade rather than a reasonable modern equivalent of the old one, only the cost of that reasonable modern equivalent is deductible; the extra spent on the upgrade itself is not covered by this relief.

Worked example. A tenant's washing machine breaks beyond repair. The landlord buys a new one for £320, pays £30 for delivery and installation, and receives nothing for the old machine since it is taken away for scrap free of charge. The full £350 is deductible, because a modern washing machine of similar quality now costs broadly what the old one did when new, allowing for ordinary price inflation. If the landlord had instead chosen a significantly larger, higher-specification machine costing £600 because they were replacing it anyway, only the cost of a reasonable modern equivalent, roughly the £350 figure above, would be deductible; the additional £250 spent on the upgrade would not be an allowable cost at all under this relief, and would not add to the property's base cost for Capital Gains Tax either, since it is a movable item rather than an improvement to the building itself.

Where it does not apply

The relief does not cover:

• Furnishing a property for the first time. Buying the initial set of furniture and appliances when a property is let for the first time, or refurnished from scratch, is capital expenditure with no revenue deduction available, whether or not you go on to claim this relief for later replacements.
• Furnished holiday lets. Since the FHL regime was abolished from April 2025, former FHL properties now fall under this relief in the same way as any other residential let, covered in our furnished holiday let tax guide. Properties still let commercially as short-term accommodation but not previously run as a qualifying FHL were always within this relief in the first place.
• Properties let under the Rent a Room Scheme. Where a landlord uses this scheme rather than declaring rental income in the normal way, the scheme's own simplified treatment applies instead, covered in our rent a room scheme guide.

Evidence to keep

Keep the invoice for the new item, proof of payment, and a note of what happened to the old item, including any amount received for it. If the new item could be seen as an upgrade, keep a note of why you consider the cost comparable to a modern equivalent, since this is the point HMRC is most likely to query on a check of your return. As with other allowable expenses, records need to be kept for at least five years after the relevant filing deadline, which matters more, not less, once you are submitting figures more frequently through the year under Making Tax Digital.

How PropMaps helps

PropMaps lets you tag each replacement purchase to the specific property and item category as it happens, along with any trade-in or disposal value received, so the deduction is fully evidenced and ready for your Self Assessment or quarterly update without a search through old receipts.

Disclaimer

This guide is general information for UK landlords, not tax advice. Check GOV.UK, HMRC's Property Income Manual, or a qualified adviser for your situation.