Council Tax - Single Person's Discount

MumOf2

We should be very grateful for advice for all you knowledgeable people out there!


Situation is that we are shortly going to move from one house to another hundreds of miles away, however Mr MO2 will still be working in the original city and (given the difficulty in selling it at the moment) will probably live there for a few nights a week (plus some weekends if absolutely necessary for work). So he will pay CT on the first property (presumably with a single person's discount) if it's still unsold.


I will be living in the second property - permanently but may visit (very) occasionally the first one. He will come down when he isn't in the first one because of work commitments.


Will the single person's discount apply to both properties? Or just to the first one? Or to the second? Or to neither?


Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

anselld

As a couple you don't get single person discount on either property. The second property is treated as a second home and subject to whatever local council has decided the treatment of second homes.

boliston

I'd imagine it would depend on "main place of residence" - the place where he spends the majority of his time.

CIS

This can be an awkard one:

If I read it correctly:

You are moving to property 2 as your main home.
He remains living in property 1 .

If this is correct then until he makes property 2 his 'sole or main residence' then you both reside in separate properties and are each entitled to a single person discount. This would cease as soon as property 2 became his 'sole or main residence'.

boliston

There must be lots of cases where "couples" don't live in the same property - perhaps they have jobs in different parts of the country. Certainly seems very different from a couple who own a "second home" (eg holiday cottage) as a luxury rather than a necessity!

MumOf2

CIS wrote: »

This can be an awkard one:

If I read it correctly:

You are moving to property 2 as your main home.
He remains living in property 1 .

If this is correct then until he makes property 2 his 'sole or main residence' then you both reside in separate properties and are each entitled to a single person discount. This would cease as soon as property 2 became his 'sole or main residence'.

Yes, you're right. We'd really like to sell property 1 but the market there is stagnant at the moment (the possibility of Scottish independence is spooking people).


So that sounds hopeful :-)


Thanks for all the comments.


x

harz99

And thank you for raising the query MO2, as we may be in the same situation ourselves dependant on the referendum result.

antrobus

CIS wrote: »

....If this is correct then until he makes property 2 his 'sole or main residence' then you both reside in separate properties and are each entitled to a single person discount. This would cease as soon as property 2 became his 'sole or main residence'.

The issue is that LAs tend to take the view that couples can only have one main residence., See for example;

The Council normally consider couples (married or not) to have one main residence even if both own or rent different properties.
http://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/200198/council_tax/1100/where_is_your_main_place_of_residence

We consider couples to have 1 main home, even if both people own or rent different properties.
https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/who-must-pay-council-tax/sole-or-main-residence

CIS

The issue is that LAs tend to take the view that couples can only have one main residence., See for example;

The problem with that view from the council's is it wouldn't stand up in a tribunal case if the couple can prove they have separate residences - each case needs to be considered on it's own merits.

antrobus

CIS wrote: »

The problem with that view from the council's is it wouldn't stand up in a tribunal case if the couple can prove they have separate residences - each case needs to be considered on it's own merits.

Maybe.

On the other hand, it might be just a little bit helpful to the OP to note that councils do indeed take that view, and that in order to actually obtain the single person's discount they might need to take it to a tribunal. And possibly note that some previous tribunal decisions such as that of Cox v London South West Valuation and Community Charge Tribunal [1994] point in the other direction.

thomathy

antrobus wrote: »

The issue is that LAs tend to take the view that couples can only have one main residence., See for example;

The Council normally consider couples (married or not) to have one main residence even if both own or rent different properties.
http://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/200198/council_tax/1100/where_is_your_main_place_of_residence

We consider couples to have 1 main home, even if both people own or rent different properties.
https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/who-must-pay-council-tax/sole-or-main-residence

This is absolutely bizarre. But seemingly correct from the link. The council you have linked to says they will ask you 'lifestyle questions' to decide whether they consider you a couple if you live separately. They also state that this applies whether married or unmarried and whether or not there is any civil partnership in place.

So - if they have already stated that this includes people who are I) unmarried and II) do not cohabit, what exactly does the council intend to ask? They cannot be asking about living arrangements as they state that this applies even if you live in separate premises, and they cannot be asking about the legal status of any relationship as they state that this applies regardless of whether or not any marriage or civil partnership is in place.

Genuinely mystified as to the questions, or the logic.

"Are you in love?" - I can picture a behatted and ID badged council inspector with clipboard who comes to enquire - "if you are, there is a 25% tax charge for each of you to pay on your separate homes."