Appurtenant land to a dwelling house depends on facts, and a compact residential unit may include the whole surrounding plot.

The extent of land appurtenant to a dwelling house depends on the facts of each case, and no rigid test can be applied by reference to urban land ceiling guidelines or ideal plot sizes. Where an old residential property included a car porch, sit-out, lawn, flower beds, out-house, cow shed and driveway as part of a compact residential unit, the surrounding land was treated as integral to the house. On that basis, the split made between the building and the surrounding land was regarded as artificial, and the full plot was treated as appurtenant to the dwelling house for capital gains reinvestment relief.

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Issues: Whether the entire land surrounding the old house constituted appurtenant land forming part of the dwelling house for the purpose of capital gains relief on reinvestment of the sale proceeds.

Analysis: The extent of land appurtenant to a building was held to depend on the facts of each case, and no rigid rule could be applied by reference to urban land ceiling guidelines or ideal building plots. On the facts, the property comprised an old building with car porch, sit-out, lawn, flower beds, out-house, cow shed and driveway, all arranged as part of a compact residential unit. The split made by the assessing authority between the building and surrounding land was found to be artificial, and the entire area was treated as appurtenant to the dwelling house.

Conclusion: The entire plot was held to be part of the dwelling house, and the assessee was entitled to the abatement on the full sale proceeds used for constructing the new house.

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