Council Tax 100% Premium HELP!!

Niv

Scattle18 said:

As the replys above, unfortunately the 2 year empty discount has already been used up by a previous occupier.
Also please don't just say you have now moved in to get the discount, a previous job of mine was a Council Tax and Business rates inspector, and part of my role was exactly this and checking the status of empty/occupied properties, they will 100% send somebody round to confirm.

Genuine question. How do they check? Just do a drive by and see if it looks occupied? No-one has ever come to my door when I have moved to check I am actually living there. 

macman

There are plenty of ways to check other than by site inspection. And you wouldn't believe the number of people who give away the intimate details of their lives on their Facebook pages...

blue_max_3

I have two experiences of empty properties and both had no two year excemption.
My mother passed away and they are going to start charging from 6 months from probate (Greater Manchester) and my place in London, I was given 30 days.
Would love to have had two years!!!

CIS

blue_max_3 said:

I have two experiences of empty properties and both had no two year excemption.
My mother passed away and they are going to start charging from 6 months from probate (Greater Manchester) and my place in London, I was given 30 days.
Would love to have had two years!!!

There is no 2 year exception from paying - the 2 years is the point at which they add an extra amount (100% increase) to the council tax charge, in certain cases.

CIS

macman said:

There are plenty of ways to check other than by site inspection. And you wouldn't believe the number of people who give away the intimate details of their lives on their Facebook pages...

Quite true, it can be quite useful for local authorities.

Hasbeen

CIS said:

blue_max_3 said:

I have two experiences of empty properties and both had no two year excemption.
My mother passed away and they are going to start charging from 6 months from probate (Greater Manchester) and my place in London, I was given 30 days.
Would love to have had two years!!!

There is no 2 year exception from paying - the 2 years is the point at which they add an extra amount (100% increase) to the council tax charge, in certain cases.

And all councils are different, mines below.

If you own a furnished property no-one is living in you may get a discount of 10% for up to 12 months from the date it was last occupied.

If the property is unfurnished, an exemption may be awarded for up to 6 months from the date it was last occupied. After this you may be awarded a 50% discount for 6 months then after 12 months the discount will end and the charge will increase to 200%.

If the property is undergoing major repair work and no-one is living there, you may get a renovation exemption for up to 12 months from the date the property was last occupied.

A 50% discount can be considered for the following:

• - New owner of a property may get 6 months discount from the date of purchase of a property if major repair work required to make it habitable and has failed to qualify for the renovation exemption.
• - Purpose-built holiday home where charged council tax eg used for holiday purposes but has to be vacated at certain times.
• - Tied accommodation - property is provided by your employer and part of your contract of employment.

The time limit for a 10% discount can be extended under the following circumstances:-

• - For up to 24 months from the date last occupied if the property is being actively marketed for sale or let.

CIS

Hasbeen said:

CIS said:

blue_max_3 said:

I have two experiences of empty properties and both had no two year excemption.
My mother passed away and they are going to start charging from 6 months from probate (Greater Manchester) and my place in London, I was given 30 days.
Would love to have had two years!!!

There is no 2 year exception from paying - the 2 years is the point at which they add an extra amount (100% increase) to the council tax charge, in certain cases.

And all councils are different, mines below.

If you own a furnished property no-one is living in you may get a discount of 10% for up to 12 months from the date it was last occupied.

If the property is unfurnished, an exemption may be awarded for up to 6 months from the date it was last occupied. After this you may be awarded a 50% discount for 6 months then after 12 months the discount will end and the charge will increase to 200%.

If the property is undergoing major repair work and no-one is living there, you may get a renovation exemption for up to 12 months from the date the property was last occupied.

A 50% discount can be considered for the following:

• - New owner of a property may get 6 months discount from the date of purchase of a property if major repair work required to make it habitable and has failed to qualify for the renovation exemption.
• - Purpose-built holiday home where charged council tax eg used for holiday purposes but has to be vacated at certain times.
• - Tied accommodation - property is provided by your employer and part of your contract of employment.

The time limit for a 10% discount can be extended under the following circumstances:-

• - For up to 24 months from the date last occupied if the property is being actively marketed for sale or let.

Your council is more generous than most these day.

They do, unless you're in Wales/Scotland rather than England ( I suspect England by reference to the 2yrs for the premium), need to update the wording of their website - the 'renovation exemption' they refer to hasn't existed since 2012 (when it was replaced nationally with a council tax discount).

Niv

CIS said:

macman said:

There are plenty of ways to check other than by site inspection. And you wouldn't believe the number of people who give away the intimate details of their lives on their Facebook pages...

Quite true, it can be quite useful for local authorities.

Well, they would find it quite tough to find much about me via social media as I don't have faceache, rarely post anything on twitter and even my friends struggle to find me on insta. This just adds to validating my lack of interaction on 'social' media - not that I am doing anything dodgy, I just don't want everyone knowing everything I am doing every moment of the day and I certainly wouldn't be sharing where i lived etc in any case!

KatrinaWaves

Niv said:

Scattle18 said:

As the replys above, unfortunately the 2 year empty discount has already been used up by a previous occupier.
Also please don't just say you have now moved in to get the discount, a previous job of mine was a Council Tax and Business rates inspector, and part of my role was exactly this and checking the status of empty/occupied properties, they will 100% send somebody round to confirm.

Genuine question. How do they check? Just do a drive by and see if it looks occupied? No-one has ever come to my door when I have moved to check I am actually living there. 

Because they have no reason to.

when someone suddenly moves into a house as soon as a premium is applied, they have reason to... 

Moderne

Sorry - not read all the comments in this thread. I, too, am being threatened with a Council Tax Premium of 100% on my one-bedroomed cottage in Powys. I suppose I should be thankful that I'm still alive, but - bearing in mind I've been forbidden from visiting this property for much of the year - I was wondering whether anyone else had inquired about the possibility of a 'rebate' on some of the £1000s  paid to some Welsh County Councils. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of affordable housing in the area and, when we are allowed to visit, my wife and I go there every weekend and for longer periods during the Christmas, Easter and summer breaks. We've spent a fair amount of money on local hospitality/home improvements etc. (when we're not bathing in champagne and pulped £50 notes!!). Oddly enough, Powys County Council said "No" when I asked them this question a while back. I have now written to my MP...