Council failed to arrange council tax inspection

lghw

Due to some problems with trying to find a new place, and availability of our perfect rental property, we got the keys to our new property on 25th July, however we still had our old flat until 17th August. We decided we would move in on the 13th August.

I called the council before we'd even signed the tenancy agreement, so that I could ask about the "unfurnished property" discount. Specifically, we were interested in knowing whether the property would be considered unfurnished if we had moved some of our belongings there, but nothing that we would need to make the place "furnished", or habitable. The council said that it should be ok, but they would need to send an inspector before they could give a full discount. Therefore, we purposfully delayed delivery of a bed, sofa, dining table, don't have a TV, no desks, etc.

I called the council back the week before we moved in. We'd now (finally) signed the tenancy agreement and were in a position to give the council the full details. They said that they would arrange an inspection, but we didn't hear anything. I called them back at least three times. They told me, a week after we had got the keys, that the inspection may take up to three weeks to arrange. I said that this would be too late, and the girl on the phone merely said that it might be ok to provide details of a removal van - however we were moving the stuff gradually ourselves, and most of our proper furniture was new and arriving directly. I called a few more times. The council did not send an inspector. I even called them on August 13th and pushed the move-in back by two days to buy them some more time, but still no inspector.

Now the council has sent me a bill with only a 25% "second home" discount for the period, rather than the full "unfurnished property" exemption. I really don't know where I stand on this... it seems ridiculously unfair that the system through which I obtain a discount on council tax (thus costing the council revenue) relies entirely upon the council sending an inspector (which they are unlikely to do in a hurry, as this would mean lost revenue). It does seem like a fairly biased system...

agrinnall

Rather than keep banging your head against the brick wall of council officialdom, why don't you get your councillor involved? He or she has more incentive to help you, and the council staff may be more inclined to listen.

I agree with 00ec25 that you should be grateful that for now you're getting a 25% discount, my council switched to 10% discount on second properties quite a few years ago.

lghw

Sorry, I wasn't suggesting that the idea of inspecting the property is unfair... More that the inspection is reliant upon the cooperation of the council, who clearly do not benefit from the inspection taking place and therefore have a vested interest in not sending the inspector.

I would indeed feel grateful to receive the second property discount, however my property was not a "second property" under the council definitions - it was "unfurnished". As for the proof of move-in date thing, I think the officer was trying to get me to stop chasing the inspection. The guidance notes are quite clear that merely submitting evidence will not do.

-- EDIT --

00ec25 wrote: »

The compromise of proof of removal date also seems an excellent cost effective solution for both sides,. Sorry it does not suit your situation.

It could suit me... I did ask in my final phone call if sending our marriage certificate (two days before the move, registered at the old address). I even offered to then take pictures of me holding said certificate in my unfurnished house. They simply said "no, it's fine" and "we'll sort it". Next thing... no exemption.

Red_dog_Sam

There is nothing that says that a local authority has to inspect a property before awarding an empty unfurnished exemption. There are loads of times when a property is empy and unfurnished between tenants or occupiers and it would be wholly impractical for an authority to inspect them all within that empty window. You shoudl not be penalised jsut because the council couldn't fulfill it's own preference to carry out an inspection before you moved in. Furthermore, you're right in that there is no reason to count this as a "second home" before you moved in. Yes - you held the tenancy but a second home implies periods of occupancy when the fact is your sole residence was still at your former address. So, even if there is no exemption granted , would an empty property charge be less than the second home charge? (One other thing - if the new property had already been empty and unfurnished for 6 months when you took the tenancy the exempt period would've ran out anyway and an empty charge would be right) .
We might not be talking a lot of money for this short period but you should dispute the refusal to grant an empty unfurnished exemption by making an official complaint to the council and as indictaed you can copy in your local councillor. If your complaint isnt upheld you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. You're not allowed to withold payment so will have to pay to avoid recovery action but you would be entitled to a refund if and when the exemption was granted.

lghw

You're right... It's not a huge amount of money - about £60 - but it's not insignificant. I have written a letter to the Council Tax Office outlining the problem.

I will chase this up via my local councillor if there are any further problems - I'm hopefully joining the committee of the local Residents' Association, so it might be good to make some initial contact.