Council Tax on purchased property 300%.

martindow

The 300% tax is an incentive to get houses back into occupation.  Isn't the best solution to this problem to crack on with the renovation as quickly as possible and get someone living in the house?  A month or two of high council tax will be a fairly minor expense compared with the renovation bill I would think.

BikingBud

Surely the out of work musician, who would be undertaking most of the work to improve the property in order to save money and get it done in the shortest possible time, would benefit from being on site.

Once improved to a very high standard and subject to review by the obligatory estate agents with before and after perspectives they can then sell or let, at an inflated rate Per Calendar Month, and just wait for the profits to come rolling in.

I would also consider complaining to the BBC and asking for compo as "Homes Under the Hammer" never mentioned this in their fantasy world of never ending riches.

wilfred30

macman said:

ProDave said:

If you and your wife were to separate, and each live in one of your two houses, not only would you not pay the 300% you would qualify for the single occupancy discount in each as well.

Were it not for the fact that this is a property in Liverpool that's been empty for 8 years. The OP will consider it a bonus if the roof is still watertight and the plumbing and wiring hasn't all been ripped out to flog as copper waste. Throw in some dry rot and mould courtesy of no heating for all that time, and it's not really likely to be the sort of place you would want to be spending the night in, let alone declaring as your main residence.

Not to mention the risk that all the new stuff they put in will be ripped out/removed overnight.

By the way OP, there's nothing '!!!!!!' about an NHS pension.

CIS

Actual occupation and a contrived occupation to remove the premium are two different things - the former is fine for legislation the latter can, ultimately, lead to a case for Fraud by False Representation. If any occupation of a property takes place then that person must ensure it is undertaken correctly and not as a front to circumvent the system.

Crashy_Time

What happens if someone genuinely tries to get a tenant and can`t, should they get a discount?

martindow

Crashy_Time said:

What happens if someone genuinely tries to get a tenant and can`t, should they get a discount?

No, they have chosen to set themselves up as a landlord renting out property.  If they don't get a tenant that is part of the cost of running their business. 

I'm surprised that you haven't suggested that lowering the rent is the answer to this problem, Crashy?

Croeso69

Vixmag82 said:

macman said:

Hannimal said:

They are wealthy enough to own two properties at once. Yes, that comes with a cost

But not much of a cost. Lots of properties in Liverpool are available from £15,000, and if you buy for renovation at auction, probably for much less. You can buy half the street for a modest BTL investment. Hence the popular Kop refrain "We all live in a Robbie Fowler house".

No they are not rich. my dad is an out of work musician and my mum is a nurse who has worked her but off the last 40 odd years. They have taken the money left to them by my Nan to try and make a bit of money before she retires on !!!!!! pension. Thanks though. 

With 40 years in an NHS pension, she will have a much better pension than 90% of the population. Hardly "!!!!!!".

fewcloudy

DoctorStrange said:

Slithery said:

DoctorStrange said:

Why does it have to be a main residence? 

Because that's the law.

DoctorStrange said:

Is there a minimum number of nights one must stay in a property so that is not longer "empty" but "occupied"?

No, it's not that simple. @CIS has already posted the relevant link...
https://lgfa92.co.uk/council-tax-occupancy-sole-main-residence/

From that link:


"A person is regarded as being resident in the property where their ‘sole or main residence’ is to be found but they may also be occupying a property if they are living in it and it is not their ‘sole or main residence"


So it's perfectly possible to occupy a property in addition to the main residence.

Also from the link:

"an “unoccupied dwelling” means a dwelling in which no one lives."

So the question becomes "does anyone live there?".

Also from that link:

"Similar comments were also made in respect of appeal 4725M179333/254C

The fact that the tenant’s sole or main residence had changed was not the determinative factor. Whilst a person’s sole or main residence can only be at one address on any one date, a person could potentially still occupy or furnish two dwellings at the same time."

And:

"Some Council Tax reductions or premiums only require occupancy (such as the ‘long-term empty’ premium) and therefore do not directly appear to require ‘residence’"


I'm not seeing anything that precludes the owners "living" a minimum number of nights at the 2nd home to reduce the 300% tax bill to 100%.

If I was the OP, I'd be asking the council some questions in writing as there's definitely an angle here. 

Hmmm, all of your posts on this thread appear to suggest to the OP's parents that they commit fraud. Why is this?
Seems like you were also unaware of these rules, so why on earth would you feel you are well placed to advise on how they might weasel out of these known and established rules? By Googling links? C'mon...
They bought a doer-upper, probably their first, didn't cost it properly, simple. Lesson learned. Nowt to do with NHS pensions, big or small. Just pay their dues like everyone else🤷‍♂️.

pinkshoes

The 300% is very clear on Liverpool Council Website, so this higher rate of council tax should have been factored into the calculation when working out what to offer and how much the renovation was going to cost. 

At £400, then the normal CT would have been £130 ish, so an increase of £270 a month. Is this really going to eat that much into their profits?? Even if they take 4 months to do it, we're only talking £1000. 

Gives them an incentive to do the renovations quickly.

Could one of them move into the property for the renovation? A friend of mine did this, but only because the property was too far away to commute, not to reduce council tax. 

Crashy_Time

martindow said:

Crashy_Time said:

What happens if someone genuinely tries to get a tenant and can`t, should they get a discount?

No, they have chosen to set themselves up as a landlord renting out property.  If they don't get a tenant that is part of the cost of running their business. 

I'm surprised that you haven't suggested that lowering the rent is the answer to this problem, Crashy?

Yes, but say they planned for and bought into being a landlord just before Covid, shouldn`t they get some kind of "compo", like all the people on furlough type thing? Many rents in Liverpool are surely at the bottom of the profitability scale for landlords already?