Chartered Accountant - HMO Investor - Straight Talker

Hello... I'm Clive Cass

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I’m Clive — a qualified Chartered Accountant and hands-on property investor with over 30 years’ experience helping people make smarter financial decisions and build long-term wealth.

My day-to-day work is split between:

Investing in high-yield HMO properties across the North West and Yorkshire

Advising landlords, builders, and small businesses on tax, accounting and compliance

And I love both.

Because I believe smart property investing and smart tax planning go hand-in-hand — and most people don’t get either right.

What

Let me work with you on property, tax or accountancy and I am sure I can make a measurable difference to your wealth as you look to achieve your financial freedom through property investment.

Why

Work with me in the knowledge that I myself do exactly what I will advise you to do. So if it is good enough for me, I am confident it will be good enough for you.

When & How

I work full time and will be very responsive to all your communications. I always get things done and you will always work directly with me. We can work via email or in person and I am always happy to answer all of your questions.

I’ve built a growing portfolio of Family Buy-to-Lets (FBTLs) and HMOs, carefully selected and professionally managed for strong, consistent returns.

I don’t chase “get rich quick” deals. I invest in quality housing, in real locations, for long-term income.

Most importantly: I invest using the same strategies I recommend to my clients.
If I wouldn’t do it with my own money, I won’t suggest it with yours.

Property Investing with a Numbers-First Mindset

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Tax & Accountancy That Actually Makes Sense

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I run a long-standing accountancy practice working mainly with:

Property investors & landlords

Builders and tradespeople

Self-employed professionals

Whether you need help with Making Tax Digital (MTD), claiming allowable property expenses, or just understanding your books — I make it simple, accurate, and jargon-free.

As a landlord myself, I understand your challenges better than most accountants do.

I’m not a flashy guru or a corporate firm. If we work together, you’ll speak to me directly — not a bot, I'm not a call centre.

I return calls. I answer questions. And I care about long-term partnerships, not quick wins.

If you’re looking for:

A hands-free HMO investment

Expert tax advice tailored to landlords

Someone who actually does what they preach

…then let’s talk.

A Personal, Straightforward Approach

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Elite Broker Blogs

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CIS: Are conversions within the scheme?

HMO| Property| Accounting

June 26, 2026•2 min read

CIS: Are conversions within the scheme?

If you are a property investor who converts houses into HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupancy), care should be taken when establishing whether you need to register as a Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) contractor.

Background

In a previous Factsheet ‘7 - Are you a Property Investor or Developer?’ we explained the differences between property investors and property developers. For CIS purposes, property developers are considered to be ‘mainstream contractors’, whereas property investors are only considered ‘deemed contractors’ if certain conditions are met.

What are the conditions for ‘deemed contractors’?

Firstly, a property investor (or any non-construction business) will fall within the definition of ‘deemed contractor’ if ‘in any rolling one year period, the person’s expenditure on construction operations exceeds £3,000,000’.

Secondly, HMRC’s guidance (CISR 12080) states:

“If its activities include the construction of an entirely new property or a redevelopment of a property, leading to change in its nature of use, for instance redeveloping an old hotel or offices into a block of flats, then that part of its activities will amount to property development, and it will be immediately within the scope of CIS as a mainstream contractor.”

Why does this matter?

A common question is whether converting residential properties into HMOs would bring a property investor under ‘deemed contractor’ status. Deemed contractor status brings a raft of CIS compliance obligations.

Things to consider

The first step is to consider whether your business is a property investor or a developer.

·A property developer’s activity is the creation of new buildings, or the renovation or conversion of existing buildings, or other civil engineering works.

·A property investment business acquires and disposes of buildings for capital gain or uses the buildings for rental.

Then:

If the business is a property investor, and its annual expenditure on construction works exceed £3million, it is a deemed contractor.

Then:

If expenditure is below £3million, consider if there has been a change of use of the property.

Has there been a change of use?

The key is to look at the property’s use both before and after the construction works have taken place. In the case of houses being converted into HMOs, the use does not change – it is ‘residential’ both before and after the conversion. It would be a different story if, say, a factory was converted into flats.

What if an investor undertakes multiple/substantial development contracts?

In this case, it will be necessary to decide if the nature of that business has now changed from “property investor” to “property developer”.

Further information

For more detailed guidance, see: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/construction-industry-scheme-reform/cisr12080

property investingAccounting for LandlordsHMO

Clive Cass

Clive Cass is a Chartered Accountant & Property Investor who shares his insights into the world of Property Investing. Read along with him as he breaks-down all the facts, information and legislation into easy to follow blog posts.

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