Community Charge Opt Out?

20SmthngSver

I've just moved into a new development and the Community Charge is £150 a year then alters by RPI. Is there a way of opting out of this?
I have friends who bought a house two years ago on a development of 30 houses. They were told they had a Community Charge but three of the residents opted out (I don't know they did this) and as a result, the whole development got letters saying they didn't have to pay. I can't really afford to pay out for more service based charges when I'm paying full rate council tax as well. It's not like the council reduce your yearly bill £150 to compensate for the services they charge you for but don't give you (lighting, road care, public facilities and green area care on the development which they "can't"/don't take on). Do you also pay the Community Charge is you're in an Affordable House on the development?

Similarly, friends on another (larger development) got a letter in December asking them to pay £250, they haven't paid it, and heard nothing about it since.

ACG

I cant answer your question, but if you cant afford the £150 bill, why did you move in? 

davidmcn

Assuming you mean you've just bought the property, didn't your solicitor give you advice about this? Service charges don't really work if some owners think payment is optional. Are you still expecting the services (whatever they are) to be provided?

20SmthngSver

davidmcn said:

Assuming you mean you've just bought the property, didn't your solicitor give you advice about this? Service charges don't really work if some owners think payment is optional. Are you still expecting the services (whatever they are) to be provided?

I thought it was compulsory but I'm hearing that is a percentage of residents decide to opt out after the fact, then no one has to pay it. I'd rather not if I don't have to, as I see it as the councils responsibilities. Like I said,, if the council reduced my bill by the difference for what they aren't supplying me but do for the non-development houses around the town, I wouldn't mind. But it's full rate council tax plus a community charge which is subject to rises.

20SmthngSver

ACG said:

I cant answer your question, but if you cant afford the £150 bill, why did you move in?

Please see above? Just because you move in somewhere, doesn't mean you have unlimited access to money. They don't give you payment options or instalment options. They just expect you to have it and pay.

davidmcn

20SmthngSver said:

davidmcn said:

Assuming you mean you've just bought the property, didn't your solicitor give you advice about this? Service charges don't really work if some owners think payment is optional. Are you still expecting the services (whatever they are) to be provided?

I thought it was compulsory but I'm hearing that is a percentage of residents decide to opt out after the fact, then no one has to pay it. I'd rather not if I don't have to, as I see it as the councils responsibilities. Like I said,, if the council reduced my bill by the difference for what they aren't supplying me but do for the non-development houses around the town, I wouldn't mind. But it's full rate council tax plus a community charge which is subject to rises.

Well, that's not how it works. Council tax is just a tax, it's not a charge for specific services rendered to you. Not sure how much of your council tax you think actually goes towards e.g. maintaining your road anyway. Really you should have had all of this explained to you during the buying process.

20SmthngSver

davidmcn said:

20SmthngSver said:

davidmcn said:

Assuming you mean you've just bought the property, didn't your solicitor give you advice about this? Service charges don't really work if some owners think payment is optional. Are you still expecting the services (whatever they are) to be provided?

I thought it was compulsory but I'm hearing that is a percentage of residents decide to opt out after the fact, then no one has to pay it. I'd rather not if I don't have to, as I see it as the councils responsibilities. Like I said,, if the council reduced my bill by the difference for what they aren't supplying me but do for the non-development houses around the town, I wouldn't mind. But it's full rate council tax plus a community charge which is subject to rises.

Well, that's not how it works. Council tax is just a tax, it's not a charge for specific services rendered to you. Not sure how much of your council tax you think actually goes towards e.g. maintaining your road anyway. Really you should have had all of this explained to you during the buying process.

I was just told there's a community charge ("Why wouldn't you want it to look nice?") you have to pay it. 

It's a freehold house but the charge is bound to my deeds, so they have control over my property in that respect with fees payable to them, so I'm going to be forever trapped in charges for re-mortgaging, fee rises or when I move. They aren't accountable to anyone either, unlike leaseholders who have a tribunal and rights. An MP has raised this in parliament as people aren't properly explained to and she's called it the next PPI scandal in the making. It is an asbolute con as it's private residents paying private money to a private company for general public useage and ammentities open to abuse. I don't know how my friends managed to opt out after moving in, as 10% of the residents wrote letters and then they all got one saying they don't have to pay.

Most of the charge goes in admin not maintenance. How can half the charge go in admin for grass cutting? It is actually still a building site, with a terrible road which has caused tyre punctures, lighting wasn't available for a while and there are no public areas yet, so what am I paying for exactly? 

https://hoa.org.uk/2016/11/problems-facing-freeholders-new-developments/

bucksbloke

These payments are very often down to the fact that local authorities will not take on all the green space, public open space or parks in new developments without commuted sums paid for by the developer. If the Council took these on without the commuted sum, everyone's council tax would probably be higher.