Removing Council Tax on an Annex

springcottage

Would appreciate some help...…

We have recently purchased a 4 bedroom house that also comes with a 2 bedroom converted cow shed on the grounds.  Both were included within the deeds however we have since discovered that the Annex has it's own council tax.  I have spoken with the relevant authorities and given that our Council apparently has a shortage of properties they are unwilling/ unable to remove a property from their books.  We have been told that unless we make the annex uninhabitable (remove the small kitchenette and bathroom) there is nothing we can do other than continue to pay two council tax bills.  We have no intention whatsoever to rent this out or indeed have it as a holiday rental we simply want it for occasional use for when my partners' elderly relatives come to stay, etc.  It is entirely unsuitable to be used as a separate property given it's location on our land so seems entirely unfair to have to pay council tax on it.  Any help would be greatly received!

molerat

https://the-green-room.co.uk/blog/granny-annexe-council-tax/

lincroft1710

If you remove the kitchenette and make good the walls and floor so that it looks like a habitable or part of a habitable room, that may be sufficient, as it is quite normal for dwellings to have more than one bathroom. However the CT band of the main house may increase.

oldbikebloke

springcottage said:

.  We have been told that unless we make the annex uninhabitable (remove the small kitchenette and bathroom) there is nothing we can do other than continue to pay two council tax bills.  We have no intention whatsoever to rent this out or indeed have it as a holiday rental we simply want it for occasional use for when my partners' elderly relatives come to stay, etc.  It is entirely unsuitable to be used as a separate property given it's location on our land so seems entirely unfair to have to pay council tax on it.  Any help would be greatly received!

nothing unfair about it at all. You bought the property you should have found out what you were buying.

Separate banding of an annex is a well established set procedure and you have been told exactly what you need to do to get it removed as a dwelling. 
In technical terms you have a "disaggregated property" ie split into (2) separate dwellings - see practice note 5 here: 
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/council-tax-manual/council-tax-practice-notes
example 5 of appendix 2 ( layout plans) of practice note 5 is exactly what you have. The key is they are both "self contained" 

You need to convert "it" into a single dwelling - see practice note 5 section 11 alterations to re-convert to a single dwelling

In grossly simplistic terms, yes you have to make it incapable of being used as self contained accommodation (not the same as uninhabitable since it does not prevent you using it) the definition of which is partly based on the fact the accommodation comprises one or more of: toilet, and/or washing, and/or kitchen facilities. See the case law in appendix one, particularly para 2.5 Provision of standard facilities: A self-contained unit should usually have facilities for living, sleeping, preparation and cooking of food, and bathing facilities such as a bath/shower, whb and lavatory. However, in exceptional circumstances the lack of a facility does not prevent a unit from being self contained.