First time buyer - advice needed if possible

CIS

You need to contact the local council and ask them - each council will have their own procedure on how they determine your eligibility.

Owain_Moneysaver

1. Depending on the height of the vehicles and the width of the road it might be feasible to scaffold over the road whilst retaining road access, if you don't have the right to obstruct the road for whatever reason.

2. You will automatically be on the previous supplier for the property. If you do nothing you will also be on their most expensive standard tariff (no dual-fuel direct debit discounts etc). Phone them up, give them the meter readings, and accept that there will be about 8 weeks of paying through the nose for gas and electricity.

As you will be on a standard tariff there is no notice period and you can search for alternative suppliers immediately and start the change supplier process, but this will usually take about 8 weeks, after which you will get a final bill from the previous supplier. Or you can ask the previous supplier to put you on a better tariff immediately.

McCreary

Having problems with my old account/email and disliked my username so I have changed to this account!

Thanks for the your replies so far - I do appreciate it. This is a great community to be a part of. I'll hopefully hear from the solicitors about the access issues next week so will update then.

You've helped me a great deal with the utilities queries too and I'll be sure to switch to a better tariff as soon as I can!

Thanks again!

hazyjo

Just to add - the council would actually need to inspect to see you weren't living there, and to see it was uninhabitable. You can't just say 'I wasn't living there/I was having works done'. Know there was a thread here the other day about someone who was trying to negotiate a reduction/pay-break in CT after having the works done. Sorry, but the council don't just take your word for it (understandably!). Keep them informed from the outset.

Jx

McCreary

hazyjo wrote: »

Just to add - the council would actually need to inspect to see you weren't living there, and to see it was uninhabitable. You can't just say 'I wasn't living there/I was having works done'. Know there was a thread here the other day about someone who was trying to negotiate a reduction/pay-break in CT after having the works done. Sorry, but the council don't just take your word for it (understandably!). Keep them informed from the outset.

Jx

Thanks... I expected a visit to be honest to confirm I won't be living there. The house is literally empty apart from a couple of old bits of furniture!

BitterAndTwisted

You might get away with not paying C Tax while there's no kitchen or bathroom in the property which is mainly what makes a property uninhabitable. Just being empty of furniture won't be.

geoffky

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You might get away with not paying C Tax while there's no kitchen or bathroom in the property which is mainly what makes a property uninhabitable. Just being empty of furniture won't be.

rubbish... you have 6 months if decorating or 12 months if doing major work...it might be different with some councils...i bought in march and moved in in aug and never paid a penny council tax until 1st sept

McCreary

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You might get away with not paying C Tax while there's no kitchen or bathroom in the property which is mainly what makes a property uninhabitable. Just being empty of furniture won't be.

geoffky wrote: »

rubbish... you have 6 months if decorating or 12 months if doing major work...it might be different with some councils...i bought in march and moved in in aug and never paid a penny council tax until 1st sept

Thanks for the replies. As I mentioned the house is currently empty apart from a couple of old pieces of furniture, there is no central heating system, it hasn't been re-wired since the 60s and no kitchen. There are also issues with dampness which I need to address by adding a damp course. I hope this is enough to justify a council tax break?

CIS

rubbish... you have 6 months if decorating or 12 months if doing major work...it might be different with some councils...i bought in march and moved in in aug and never paid a penny council tax until 1st sept

The rules regarding Class C and Class A exemptions are national.

If you moved in to the property in August then council tax is due from that day - these two exemptions are applicable only when the property is unoccupied.

You dont get a Class C or Class A for decorating - for a class C the property needs to be substantially unfurnished & unoccupied and for Class A it needs to be unoccupied and undergoing/requiring major repairs or structual works.

McCreary

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Depending on the height of the vehicles and the width of the road it might be feasible to scaffold over the road whilst retaining road access, if you don't have the right to obstruct the road for whatever reason.

My solicitor has informed me that there is no formal agreement in place with the previous owner and there is also nothing on the deeds. They have told me that I would need to deal with it 'as and when' I wanted to get work done on the side of the house.

I guess it looks like I'll have to start writing a letter to the head office!