How to prove to council my house is not unfurnished and empty...

MontyHQ

Hi,


I recently purchased a house that I am slowly renovating. Initially, I was entitled to a council tax discount (25% if I recall correctly) as the house was left unfurnished and empty. At the end of this 3 month period, I thought I would register myself as the sole occupant to get a further 25% discount. The council accepted this initially but have recently sent me a new bill identifying the house as long term unoccupied and empty. How would I go about demonstrating this is not the case? What criteria are used to identify the house as unoccupied?


There is significant renovation work taking place that has resulted in nearly every room having no furniture in it. That said, there is a functioning kitchen and bathroom and another room set up as a lounge/bedroom. All utilities are connected. I am at the house on a daily basis but I do not stay at the house every night - it's a bit miserable there in its current state. It's a requirement for my mortgage that the house is not left unoccupied which is one of the reasons I have the room and spend the occasional night there. I wonder what criteria I need to meet to demonstrate to the council that this is my main residence for council tax purposes? I do not own another property, I am on the electoral roll at this address and my business is registered at the address along with driving license, banking, vehicles etc etc...


Any advice would be much appreciated. Ultimately, I want to avoid paying full council tax on the house but it's not clear to me what the rules are... I would have thought that I can live there alone for a 25% discount while the building work is carried out. I guess I need to be able to demonstrate to the council that I actually do live there (albeit not every night).

Thank you in advance,


Monty

G_M

My council is I think typical, but check yours:

• 100% discount – for properties that are empty and unfurnished less than a month. This discount replaced the Class C Exemption.
• 50% discount – unoccupied and unfurnished properties undergoing major repair work to render them habitable or where structural alterations are needed or taking place. The discount can be awarded up to a maximum period of 12 months. This discount replaced the Class A Exemption.

There is no discount for properties that are:-

• Unoccupied and unfurnished more than a month
• Unoccupied and furnished (e.g. second homes)

But if you recently applied for single person discount, then clearly the council will consider the property as occupied, so not eligible for the '50% 'major repair work' discount.


And by the sound of it, the property IS 'habitable'. Just 'doing up' a property is not enough.

elsien

If you're not sleeping there, where are you staying and would that impact on where the council is considering your main residence to be? Is your "occasional night" enough?

davidmcn

If you have most of your stuff somewhere else, and spend most of your nights somewhere else, I'm not sure how you could claim that this is your main residence.

AdrianC

MontyHQ wrote: »

I recently purchased a house that I am slowly renovating. Initially, I was entitled to a council tax discount (25% if I recall correctly) as the house was left unfurnished and empty.

So while it suited you, you didn't live there, and it was "unoccupied and empty".

At the end of this 3 month period, I thought I would register myself as the sole occupant to get a further 25% discount.

But, paperwork apart, what changed? Did you actually furnish it and move in?

The council accepted this initially but have recently sent me a new bill identifying the house as long term unoccupied and empty. How would I go about demonstrating this is not the case?

Invite them round to see the evidence of you living there.

What criteria are used to identify the house as unoccupied?

1. Is it occupied?

There is significant renovation work taking place that has resulted in nearly every room having no furniture in it. That said, there is a functioning kitchen and bathroom and another room set up as a lounge/bedroom. All utilities are connected.

So you aren't eligible for the "uninhabitable" reduction.

I am at the house on a daily basis but I do not stay at the house every night

So where are you staying every night, and what's the CT situation there?

I wonder what criteria I need to meet to demonstrate to the council that this is my main residence for council tax purposes?

Why did you feel the need to put those last four words in? Why do you think your main residence "for CT purposes" should be anything but your actual main residence? Which do YOU view as where you actually live...?

Chandler85

I think it is simply a case of you can't have your cake and eat it.


It is either unoccupied, which is better for Council Tax but breaches your mortgage agreement or it is occupied and you have to have 25% off but not breach your mortgage agreement.


Your insurance will also say it can't be unoccupied I would suggest.


The best option surely is to pay your Council Tax as a single occupier and then stay there more often. I've lived in multiple projects, it is horrible and not pleasant but that is life.

tom9980

MontyHQ wrote: »

Hi,


I recently purchased a house that I am slowly renovating. Initially, I was entitled to a council tax discount (25% if I recall correctly) as the house was left unfurnished and empty. At the end of this 3 month period, I thought I would register myself as the sole occupant to get a further 25% discount. The council accepted this initially but have recently sent me a new bill identifying the house as long term unoccupied and empty. How would I go about demonstrating this is not the case? What criteria are used to identify the house as unoccupied?


There is significant renovation work taking place that has resulted in nearly every room having no furniture in it. That said, there is a functioning kitchen and bathroom and another room set up as a lounge/bedroom. All utilities are connected. I am at the house on a daily basis but I do not stay at the house every night - it's a bit miserable there in its current state. It's a requirement for my mortgage that the house is not left unoccupied which is one of the reasons I have the room and spend the occasional night there. I wonder what criteria I need to meet to demonstrate to the council that this is my main residence for council tax purposes? I do not own another property, I am on the electoral roll at this address and my business is registered at the address along with driving license, banking, vehicles etc etc...


Any advice would be much appreciated. Ultimately, I want to avoid paying full council tax on the house but it's not clear to me what the rules are... I would have thought that I can live there alone for a 25% discount while the building work is carried out. I guess I need to be able to demonstrate to the council that I actually do live there (albeit not every night).

Thank you in advance,


Monty

You know those people who don't pay their taxes that we need to fund our public services? Your that person.

-taff

I phoned a local council for advice on what constituted unfurnished v furnished and was told that soft furnishings, like a bed and a sofa, means you live there, the absence means you don't [in a nutshell]
Ask them if they have the same criteria.

boo_star

-taff wrote: »

I phoned a local council for advice on what constituted unfurnished v furnished and was told that soft furnishings, like a bed and a sofa, means you live there, the absence means you don't [in a nutshell]
Ask them if they have the same criteria.

Surely living there is cut and dried? You either live there or you don't. A bed being there doesn't mean you live there.

davidmcn

-taff wrote: »

I phoned a local council for advice on what constituted unfurnished v furnished and was told that soft furnishings, like a bed and a sofa, means you live there, the absence means you don't [in a nutshell]
Ask them if they have the same criteria.

The OP's problem is more about proving it's their main residence (in circumstances where another address seems to have a better claim to that), rather than whether it's furnished.

AdrianC

davidmcn wrote: »

The OP's problem is more about proving it's their main residence (in circumstances where another address seems to have a better claim to that), rather than whether it's furnished.

The OP doesn't even seem to want to claim it actually IS their residence, just "for CT purposes", which suggests they know that they're bang-to-rights but just want to game it.