Council tax - New property, no band!!?!

MercilessKiller

Hi All

I've just moved into a lovely 2 bedroom brand new flat in south London.

It's so new that there is no band yet. I registered online for council tax and received a letter telling me that they are:

"Unable to advise how much council tax is due, or send a bill, because a band has not yet been set for your property". It is with the "Listing Officer" to set the band but it has been a few months now since the property was built and there is absolutely no urgency on there end or estimation on time frames to get this done.

However, I have been told that while I can't be billed, I will be charged a back-dated payment up to the day I registered online.

I'm concerned about this - I obviously don't want to wait a year and randomly get a bill for £1.5k or something, meanwhile it's quite hard to budget (I'd have to create a new bank account somewhere or a separate savings account) and pay into that separately, guessing what it would be?

Has anyone got any experience of this? If they can't charge or bill me, why should I be then liable for the time where they're unable to say I owe them money? It feels a bit unethical - Surely it would make sense to give me an emergency band and charge me £x then re-factor, rather than tell me they wont bill me at all, but one day will bill me for everything?

Thanks for your advice!

custardy

MercilessKiller wrote: »

Hi All

I've just moved into a lovely 2 bedroom brand new flat in south London.

It's so new that there is no band yet. I registered online for council tax and received a letter telling me that they are:

"Unable to advise how much council tax is due, or send a bill, because a band has not yet been set for your property". It is with the "Listing Officer" to set the band but it has been a few months now since the property was built and there is absolutely no urgency on there end or estimation on time frames to get this done.

However, I have been told that while I can't be billed, I will be charged a back-dated payment up to the day I registered online.

I'm concerned about this - I obviously don't want to wait a year and randomly get a bill for £1.5k or something, meanwhile it's quite hard to budget (I'd have to create a new bank account somewhere or a separate savings account) and pay into that separately, guessing what it would be?

Has anyone got any experience of this? If they can't charge or bill me, why should I be then liable for the time where they're unable to say I owe them money? It feels a bit unethical - Surely it would make sense to give me an emergency band and charge me £x then re-factor, rather than tell me they wont bill me at all, but one day will bill me for everything?

Thanks for your advice!

surely you can approximate what its likely band will be?
If you want an emergency band then that would be very high.

MercilessKiller

custardy wrote: »

surely you can approximate what its likely band will be?
If you want an emergency band then that would be very high.

It will be band C or D right? I think that's what i've narrowed it down to as average for a 2 bedroom flat.... I just find it really strange that I'll prob get a bill in 6 months or a year for the full amount rather than some request to pay now and correct it later...

It makes managing my finances quite difficult and that's the concern.

k3lvc

MercilessKiller wrote: »

It will be band C or D right? I think that's what i've narrowed it down to as average for a 2 bedroom flat.... I just find it really strange that I'll prob get a bill in 6 months or a year for the full amount rather than some request to pay now and correct it later...

It makes managing my finances quite difficult and that's the concern.

Mountain out of a molehill

Take the highest band you think it could be in, divide the annual bill by 12 (or some may argue 10 depending on the local council) and put this month in a seperate account each month.

Hey presto when the bill comes you'll be able to pay it

Savvy_Sue

See if you can find similar properties nearby? Ask the developer?

johnbfan

Think you might have to add a policing precept as well to the yearly amount.

Go on the VOA website and check out any flats around you. Will give you the amount they are paying and use that as a guide.

xylophone

Do you have a 123 Account - a very handy account to have because you get cash back on certain bills which will almost certainly cover the £2 a month cost of the account. It also pays interest if you have over £1000 in there ( tiered rates) so you can happily let your CT money sit there earning you a few pennies.....

http://www.santander.co.uk/uk/current-accounts/123-current-account