What happens to Angela Rayner and her old council house?

The deputy leader of the Labor Party is facing questions over the sale of the house she says she lived in. Photo: James Manning/PA Wire

Angela Rayner is under police investigation over claims she broke election laws.

Greater Manchester Police have launched an investigation into complaints that she incorrectly reported , which house was her permanent address on the electoral register, which is a criminal offence. It is alleged that she was in fact living with her husband at a separate address.

She also faces questions over the sale of the house in which she claimed to live. If it was not her main residence, she may have been liable to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale.

Daniel Martin, deputy political editor of The Telegraph, looks at the allegations.

When did Angela Rayner buy her council house?

Long before she became an MP, Ms Rayner bought her council property in 2007 for £79,000 £ sterling in Vicarage Road, Stockport, under a right to buy scheme.

< p>Under the terms of the scheme proposed by Margaret Thatcher, she received a 25 per cent discount on the asking price of the property, equating to £26,000.

Ms Rayner owned the house in Vicarage Road for eight years and was registered on the electoral roll there the entire time she was there.

She sold her house in 2015 for £127,500 — a profit of £100. 48,500. She remained registered at the address on the electoral roll until her husband sold his house a year later.

What's the problem?

According to election rules, voters must register at their permanent address.

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They face penalties for providing false information, such as a fine of up to £1,000.

If the offense is not considered serious enough to warrant a criminal conviction, civil penalties may also be imposed.

How does capital gains tax work?

Homeowners do not need to pay CGT if they make a profit from their main residence. However, they must pay CGT on the second property.

Spouses who both own a property can only have one main residence for CGT purposes.

So the question is where is it actually lived during the first five years of her marriage and what her primary residence was is critical.

If she had been liable to pay CGT, she would have had to pay up to £1,500. However, the amount could be reduced by the cost of repairs.

Where did Angela Rayner actually live?

Neighbors in Vicarage Road said they are «firm» that she actually lived at her husband's house in Lowndes Lane.

According to Lord Ashcroft's unofficial biography, Mrs Rayner re-registered the birth of her two sons at her husband's home in 2010.

This would seem to indicate that she should have be liable for CGT.

When reports of her property first emerged, Rayner tweeted: «Like most normal people who sell their own homes, I was not subject to capital gains tax as it was my home and the only one I owned.»

However, experts question whether this complies with current tax law.

What did Angela Rayner say?

Ms Rayner insists she took expert tax and legal advice that said she does not have to pay CGT on the sale of her Vicarage Road property.

Sir Keir Starmer also said he had «full confidence in all the answers she gave». Labor suggested the story was an attempt by the Tories to «smear» her.

What did the Tories say?

The Tories demanded Ms Rayner publish the tax advice she said she received, from which she still refused.

She said she would be willing to pass this information on, if necessary, to either HM Revenue & Customs or police.