Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 280

Temporary disuse of building or structure

Section 280 provides that a building or structure which has been in use for industrial purposes continues to be treated as an industrial building or structure during any period of temporary disuse, so that writing-down allowances and balancing adjustments remain available.

• A building or structure that was an industrial building immediately before a period of temporary disuse continues to be treated as an industrial building throughout that period, preserving entitlement to writing-down allowances.
• Where the trade has been permanently discontinued or a lease has ended, any writing-down or balancing allowance during temporary disuse is given by way of tax discharge or repayment, and any balancing charge is assessed under Case IV of Schedule D.
• If the building owner has rental income chargeable under Case V of Schedule D, allowances and charges during temporary disuse are instead made against that rental income.
• A deemed discontinuance of a trade (for example, on a change of proprietorship under section 69) does not count as a permanent discontinuance for the purposes of this section.