Reply With QuoteI would query that bill Steve, when I did our last property, it was a rip out and extension job, I am 100% sure we got an empty uninhabited rate from the local council?
As a step to eventual retirement we (myself and SWMBO) have purchased a small (2 up, 2 down) terraced house in a local village. The aim is fix it up, sell current primary home, and move in. So recent heart attack and double bypass op. probably in the next couple of weeks has scuppered the time scale somewhat. Anyway the council, quick as a whippet, have sent through the council tax bill. So, naively as it happens, we assumed empty property the council will allow us a time scale with free or reduced tax.... Nope.
Full council tax even if the property is empty. In fact even if it doesn't have a roof!!
I've sent back the filled in form and crossed out the sections where it says date you moved in etc.... I did consider putting 0 in the box for number of adults living there but since, after speaking to a right snotty <person> at the local office, it seams that will immediately mean full rates, I put in 1 in the hope of getting single occupancy discount.
Okay, I don't expect any sympathy or shouts of righteous indignation.... just wanted to moan really ;-)
I would query that bill Steve, when I did our last property, it was a rip out and extension job, I am 100% sure we got an empty uninhabited rate from the local council?
Nope... until two years ago you got 6 months reduced rates and 5 years ago they gave you up to 2 years free! Changed now. Spoke to a local women that's a property developer and she's gone as far as appeals etc... to no avail. Turns out the discount is not a right, it's purely up to the local council.Originally Posted by seadog1408
From gov.uk web site...
Second homes and empty properties
You may be able to get a discount if you have a second home or an empty property - it’s up to your council to decide.
Councils can charge extra Council Tax for empty properties.
Ah ok, ours was 3 years ago this month, bloody cheeky money grabbing beggars!.
I don't know you capitalists with your property empires trying to escape your responsibilities who do you think you are google or amazon?someone has to pick up the tab and it us guys in the middle could go on but in another forum.
I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
Uninhabitable discount of 100% for a maximum of 1 month and requires a property inspection.
No one living there is full whack, one person living there is 25% off. Up to you how loosely you define living there...
That is insane! so ‘nobody’ uses more of the council services than a single person? The only explantation is that the council are operating some restrictive agenda or other.
Yep... I could have had a shouting match with them but they get soo... upset if you express dissatisfaction with them ;-)
I asked about a discount for not using the local amenities or needing the bins emptied... you can guess the reply to that one. Bring back the poll tax I say!
All of this came in when the budgets were cut, then cut, then cut so I would imagine it's a way to claw back some money after austerity has left them financially prolapsed.
This was indeed the case some time ago, in the past we've had 6 months exemption on full refurbs but those halcyon days are over, I considered myself lucky recently when a tenant moved out leaving a major top to bottom clean involving a three ton skip, the local council gave us a one month exemption. Austerity hit councils as well as police officers schools and the NHS,
Last edited by number2; 3rd August 2019 at 08:06.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Sorry? What? How does having an empty property justify paying 100% tax? No bins to empty. I'm not using double the local facilities. You could say we still need to pay for the potential use of the fire and police services and, okay, I'll willing pay for that but, honestly, am I using double the schools/libraries/whatever?I don't know you capitalists with your property empires trying to escape your responsibilities who do you think you are google or amazon?
You can swing this anyway you like but it all boils down to the same thing - government cuts.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Yep... I know... I just wanted a moan :-)
Councils will do anything they can to legally claw the monies in. If they can charge for an empty property then they will whether it's right or wrong.
However it does make me a bit peeved when I see some of the things that they spend this tax money on.
I totally agree with you but councils are constantly scratching their arses trying to make up for money our governments no longer share out, just so they can sell us the 'we are the party of low taxes' cobblers.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
It was a joke and my way of saying that the Govt and local Authorities are quite capable of exhorting monies out of “ little people” but so many of the big boys get away with it.
I had a discussion with my local Authority re the rubbish as i take our glass to the recycle centre , garden waste i pay for as an extra,quite happy to take the rest to our tip sorry recycle centre so did not need their services can i have a rates reduction basically the answers second word was “ off”
Last edited by mart broad; 3rd August 2019 at 08:22.
I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
Poll tax wax worse; it was double tax on an empty property with no exceptions.
I worked with a guy who inherited his mum’s house. He had to pay double poll tax ad the council said two people could live there. He was paying three taxes at his home because his son was there but refused to move into his grandmother’s house.
And of course, councils have historically complained about too many empty properties (no revenue and shortage of housing stock). Factor in rural areas where communities are ruined by excess holiday homes, locals unable to afford to rent/buy.... It's one tax that communities won't rail against. That said, I do sympathise with cases like yours where it's a personal means to an end - there is a strong case to argue for a partial if the property is fully developed within a set time scale imo.
Last edited by Suds; 3rd August 2019 at 08:27.
Anyone blamed Corbyn yet?
Ahaaa, answers in the Bear Pit please
To the OP, I suspect you are dealing with East Riding Council, the vast majority of Councils have gone down the root of getting rid of exemptions and discounts for empty properties to save time and money on administering them and also to increase revenue income. If you feel the property is in an unfit state then approach the Valuation Office (they are independent of the council) https://www.gov.uk/topic/local-government/council-tax telephone 0300 050 1501 and request that the property is removed from the Council Tax list due to its poor condition. They will send out inspectors to look at the property, if they remove it from the list then they will notify the Council and your Council Tax liability will cease until the property is in a suitable condition to be brought back onto the Council Tax list.
Sorry for jumping to conclusions.
Is this starting to get too political?
Our local high street (£9 return bus fair once a day) is saturated with charity shops... I'm told they pay zero council tax. Right/wrong? I mean do we the people that DO pay not have a right to decide if we want to donate to a charity or not?
local council allows exemption/ discount for a lack of functioning toilet! but not much else.
Charity shops probably better than the alternative, an empty shop.
As is already being alluded to we are slipping in to politics and this isn't the place, we can probably all agree though that on the whole things could be better.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
100% Council tax for an empty property? That's luxury, some councils, including my old one in Slough charge double for an empty property.
http://www.slough.gov.uk/council-tax...s-premium.aspx
I had something similar when my mother died over a year ago.
we couldn’t sell the house until after the inquest which kept being adjourned.
The local council had no sympathy and charged us the full amount,yet if they want they can at least lower the price.
Every council has a different policy,we managed to sell the house last week.
I had paid a total bill of £2,500 we had used none of the local services all it did was cause us more grief.
As OP mentioned you had potential use of fire/police services, possibly others.
Edit:- And roads.
I say bring back window tax or even better, dust off that national razor.
Fas est ab hoste doceri
And air. Do not forget sun/moon light, rain, wind and local pondlife..
Fas est ab hoste doceri
Round My way I think it’s at the councils discretion. Rest assured though they won’t take The property owners word.If You say it’s unoccupied or uninhabitable they come out and check
As much as getting the extra cash I also believe it was to try and deter people buying houses as an investment but not actually renting them out.The increase in house price outweighs bank interest, so buy a house, leave it empty with no hassles renting and make money just sitting there. This was increasing the housing shortage problem.
The council pointed out to me that it was my choice not to be in residence, if the house was full to capacity or empty the facilities were there, bin men were in the street regardless of how many bins were out, schools are available, when it rains the water still runs away from empty houses. Left me at the 25% single person discount though.
Out of interest does that run the risk that the council tax bracket will change when works are complete due to some kind of reassessment process?
That might have been an issue for a few multi-million £ flats in London but I am sure that the total number of properties bought as investments and then deliberately left empty will be very small in the scheme of things.
As others have said, it's councils maximising the income they can get. Fairness, common sense and any other consideration is irrelevant. "Can we charge more?", "Yes", "Right, we will charge more". It's as simple as that.
I've no particular sympathy for councils but it's national government passing a problem on.
It is easy to slag the Councils off but the simple fact is that Community Tax was frozen for several years and more responsibility for adult social care was imposed upon them by the Government. This means that nearly every Council is living off their investments and are slowing running out of money.
They need to raise every penny they can and this is one way of doing it.
Potentially they could look at the banding again if their has been a substantive change in the property e.g if it has been extended. A few years back a couple complained to the Valuation office that their property was a Band B and the others in the street were a Band A. They asked for the house to be rebanded down to the Band A, Valuation Officers came out to visit the property and decided to increase the banding of the other properties on the street to a Band B. They weren't very popular with their neigbours after that.
I had heard such stories before, good way to make friend.
.n.
Sent from my SM-G950F using TZ-UK mobile app
The banding after an extension or other substantive works, is only carried out after the sale of the property.
The person who did the works will continue to pay at the same band (in our case C) whilst the subsequent purchaser will pay at the higher band. Our neighbour (attached semi) are a band E because their property had been extended before they bought it.
This^^^
Unfortunately, councils are being continually squeezed by central government. Their budgets are being cut every year whilst their commitments are being increased by government legislation.
She is a beauty isn’t she. I personally sleep well in the knowledge she is keeping me, my family and Swedish tankers sailing under Union Jack safe and sound.. oh and where is that Tempest thread when you need it to make me all warm and fuzzy. (I may need a change now. Nurse!)
Fas est ab hoste doceri
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