Council tax on empty static caravan

We have a static on our land that we used when converting our barn. It’s now empty and used for storage but the council are insisting we need to pay council tax. Why should we pay council tax twice totalling over £300 per month?? Is this right??

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  • CIS
    CIS Posts: 12,260
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    We have a static on our land that we used when converting our barn. It’s now empty and used for storage but the council are insisting we need to pay council tax. Why should we pay council tax twice totalling over £300 per month?? Is this right??
    (Assuming England or Wales)

    Ahh, these ones are always fun in my experience. The last one I had to argue for a client went around in circles for months before I managed to get the VOA and council to sing from the same hymn sheet.

    The pitch (not the caravan) is banded by the VOA and they determine if it remains a residential dwelling or not - as long as it's banded then there will (with few exceptions) be council tax due on it. The overall arguments, in this case, must be made to the VOA and not the council (although the VOA may be working on the back of information held by the council).
    I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.
  • Nick_C
    Nick_C Posts: 7,442
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    CIS - how helpful are the VOA on this sort of issue?

    Is the issue that the caravan is a capable of being used as a dwelling because it (presumably) has a sink, shower, and toilet? Would the VOA look on this differently if these were removed?

    Alternatively, could OP change the use of the Caravan so it is no longer static and take it on holiday occasionally?
  • CIS
    CIS Posts: 12,260
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    The pitch being unoccupied by a physical caravan does not remove it from a banding (although a Class R exemption would then be due), it is down to what the intended future use is and whether or not the pitch will be used as a 'sole or main residence' in future.

    CIS - how helpful are the VOA on this sort of issue?

    Depends on the VOA office - last case I had went up to a manager before they agreed with my submission on it. The problem in that case, as is often the case, is that the VOA liaise with the council and take info from them so you've got to work through two different organisations in the right order (and then sometimes backwards and forwards to get one issue sorted so that the next can be, and so on).
    I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.
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