Council Tax Problems.

hougtimo

Right. Last year my grandmother of 85 years was offered a flat in sheltered accommodation. Although at the time she didn't need it, it certainly is better her being there as i think now she would struggle to cope on her own.

Anyway, she owns a bungalow which is 2/3rds hers and the other 3rd is owned by the Church Of England. The sheltered accommodation she has moved into is also owned by the Church.

The flat which she is renting is liable for almost twice the council tax of her bungalow; which is okay, but the real problem comes because the council have said we have to start paying council tax on her bungalow again. This means she's paying around the £500 a month mark, £200 of which she really doesn't have. In fact she's just rung us in tears because she can't afford any toothpaste.

This is ridiculous, and a huge stress that an 85 year old does not need.

The bungalow is on the market and has been for 10 months. Nothing doing there, been with a couple of different agencies - had it redecorated etc... But still no joy.

I've contacted the council who have said, we can get the single occupancy discount if we register it as a second home; but they would investigate that someone does stay there. Again, they said we could register a tenant there but they would investigate to make sure the named tenant was living there.

Again having a tenant causes problems with the Church and one of their 'committees' would have to agree - again which the is no guarantee to.

We've approached the Church Property people and they won't give her either a discount on the flat or her council tax on the property they own 1/3rd of.

We're just completely caught! She's paying council tax to a county she doesn't even live in. We're not even looking for a complete way out - even single occupancy discount would be a major help!

What can we do?

simpywimpy

Can you not register the bungalow as being empty (providing it doesnt contain furniture) if you havent already done this

hougtimo

simpywimpy wrote: »

Can you not register the bungalow as being empty (providing it doesnt contain furniture) if you havent already done this

Yes, but you only get 6 months council tax free - we've now had that.

ET1976

Reduce the price of the bungalow so it sells? Ask the Church to buy back the other 2/3rds?

The 2 properties in question must be pretty valuable to be paying £500/month council tax. We pay £120/month (band D) for a 4 bed semi-detached house in a fairly expensive area (south east).

Surely she could realise a decent amount of equity from selling the bungalow even at a lower price.

Fire_Fox

If the house is not selling it is overpriced. I would not suggest you investigate getting a tenant in as there are reams of legislation your grandmother would need to comply with as a landlord, she is not of an age where she needs that kind of legal responsibility.

Have you looked at whether the flat is correctly banded for council tax? Article how to challenge this on the main MSE site. The situation is not ridiculous, people who can afford two homes pay more than people who can only afford one. There is six months grace in any one financial year to allow you to find a tenant or sell.

Does anyone have power of attorney over your grandmother's affairs? It can be helpful as a 'shielding mechanism' if she is getting stressed over her finances. Be warned the critera are very strict, you must ONLY take action which is in your grandmother's best interests and NOT to maximise any inheritance. http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/

poppysarah

PRICE.

The bungalow will sell at the right price.

hougtimo

the bungalow isn't worth a lot. It went on the market at under what the estate agents recommended which was £160k - it's now advertised at 130k and we're not getting any interest at all. Every one else in the village who is selling is saying the same thing.

Fire_Fox

hougtimo wrote: »

the bungalow isn't worth a lot. It went on the market at under what the estate agents recommended which was £160k - it's now advertised at 130k and we're not getting any interest at all. Every one else in the village who is selling is saying the same thing.

So the other properties are overpriced too, it's not uncommon in this market as vendors find it very difficult to accept they will make a loss. Look at land registry sold prices for the village to find the true worth of the bungalow. It will sell if you price it realistically: if you post the Rightmove link we can critique the estate agents particulars.

BitterAndTwisted

Anything will sell if it's at the right price. It would make sense to indicate that you will accept offers at less than any other comparable properties which are currently up for sale in the same neighbourhood.

ET1976

hougtimo wrote: »

the bungalow isn't worth a lot.

In that case, the flat must either be worth a lot, be in a very expensive council tax area, or be in the wrong band, as FF mentioned.

poppysarah

Lower the price £5k a week until it sells.