Council Tax premium on second homes in England?

CIS

jenza8 said:

Thank you. It's incredibly frustrating as we cannot speak to any of the actual officers who keep telling us it's an empty property. We've uploaded evidence including photos to show it's furnished and asked what else they need but then the advisor on the phone said Harriw are charging the premium on 2nd homes too and that it's up to each individual council to decide on their own rules. 

Complete lack of training and understanding in council tax is the most likely reason. They tend not to like to splash out on such luxuries as training.

I've lost count of the number of battles I've had with councils just to get through to someone on behalf of a client.

jenza8

CIS said:

jenza8 said:

Thank you. It's incredibly frustrating as we cannot speak to any of the actual officers who keep telling us it's an empty property. We've uploaded evidence including photos to show it's furnished and asked what else they need but then the advisor on the phone said Harriw are charging the premium on 2nd homes too and that it's up to each individual council to decide on their own rules. 

Complete lack of training and understanding in council tax is the most likely reason. They tend not to like to splash out on such luxuries as training.

I've lost count of the number of battles I've had with councils just to get through to someone on behalf of a client.

To update on the situation, Harrow Council have now responded saying 'I am unable to located any notifications from yourself that states the property is your second home until your first dispute.  As we were never informed prior to the empty premium being added, it was assumed that your property had been empty for 2 years.'  They go on to state that the premium can only be removed once proof has been provided that the property has been in use for the 2 years.  

Firstly, we were unaware that we had to infirm the council that the property was being used as a second home. Is it really the case that we should have done this even though we were paying our council tax bills as normal? 

Secondly, how on earth do we prove that it has been in use for my husband to stay at when working in the south? There's very little electric and gas use because he literally goes there to sleep. We've asked them to inspect the fact it is furnished but they have failed to do that.  I can see they are going to get away with what seems like daylight robbery. 

macman

Have you raised this with your local councillor?

CIS

jenza8 said:

CIS said:

jenza8 said:

Thank you. It's incredibly frustrating as we cannot speak to any of the actual officers who keep telling us it's an empty property. We've uploaded evidence including photos to show it's furnished and asked what else they need but then the advisor on the phone said Harriw are charging the premium on 2nd homes too and that it's up to each individual council to decide on their own rules. 

Complete lack of training and understanding in council tax is the most likely reason. They tend not to like to splash out on such luxuries as training.

I've lost count of the number of battles I've had with councils just to get through to someone on behalf of a client.

To update on the situation, Harrow Council have now responded saying 'I am unable to located any notifications from yourself that states the property is your second home until your first dispute.  As we were never informed prior to the empty premium being added, it was assumed that your property had been empty for 2 years.'  They go on to state that the premium can only be removed once proof has been provided that the property has been in use for the 2 years.  

Firstly, we were unaware that we had to infirm the council that the property was being used as a second home. Is it really the case that we should have done this even though we were paying our council tax bills as normal? 

Secondly, how on earth do we prove that it has been in use for my husband to stay at when working in the south? There's very little electric and gas use because he literally goes there to sleep. We've asked them to inspect the fact it is furnished but they have failed to do that.  I can see they are going to get away with what seems like daylight robbery. 

You're in to technical areas of legislation with this and any requirement to notify is dependent on the specifics of the council tax account and what was happening with it. I have a client with Newham council ongoing that I'm having a similar argument with at the moment, a right faff.

The furnished issue regarding premiums is one of the most common cases I see from clients, especially so at the moment, and can be a pain to argue with councils. It doesn't have to have been in use for the 2 yrs for the premium to be removed - it can be removed for any period and at any point the requisite conditions are not met for the premium to apply.

jenza8

macman said:

Have you raised this with your local councillor?

Thank you. I will look into doing this. 

jenza8

CIS said:

jenza8 said:

CIS said:

jenza8 said:

Thank you. It's incredibly frustrating as we cannot speak to any of the actual officers who keep telling us it's an empty property. We've uploaded evidence including photos to show it's furnished and asked what else they need but then the advisor on the phone said Harriw are charging the premium on 2nd homes too and that it's up to each individual council to decide on their own rules. 

Complete lack of training and understanding in council tax is the most likely reason. They tend not to like to splash out on such luxuries as training.

I've lost count of the number of battles I've had with councils just to get through to someone on behalf of a client.

To update on the situation, Harrow Council have now responded saying 'I am unable to located any notifications from yourself that states the property is your second home until your first dispute.  As we were never informed prior to the empty premium being added, it was assumed that your property had been empty for 2 years.'  They go on to state that the premium can only be removed once proof has been provided that the property has been in use for the 2 years.  

Firstly, we were unaware that we had to infirm the council that the property was being used as a second home. Is it really the case that we should have done this even though we were paying our council tax bills as normal? 

Secondly, how on earth do we prove that it has been in use for my husband to stay at when working in the south? There's very little electric and gas use because he literally goes there to sleep. We've asked them to inspect the fact it is furnished but they have failed to do that.  I can see they are going to get away with what seems like daylight robbery. 

You're in to technical areas of legislation with this and any requirement to notify is dependent on the specifics of the council tax account and what was happening with it. I have a client with Newham council ongoing that I'm having a similar argument with at the moment, a right faff.

The furnished issue regarding premiums is one of the most common cases I see from clients, especially so at the moment, and can be a pain to argue with councils. It doesn't have to have been in use for the 2 yrs for the premium to be removed - it can be removed for any period and at any point the requisite conditions are not met for the premium to apply.

Thank you. I cannot find anything that Harrow have published which states a requirement to notify them about a property being used as a second home. 

I've got people who've done work in the flat who are therefore unbiased and would be able to verify the fact its furnished and has been over all of this period. 

CIS

jenza8 said:

CIS said:

jenza8 said:

CIS said:

jenza8 said:

Thank you. It's incredibly frustrating as we cannot speak to any of the actual officers who keep telling us it's an empty property. We've uploaded evidence including photos to show it's furnished and asked what else they need but then the advisor on the phone said Harriw are charging the premium on 2nd homes too and that it's up to each individual council to decide on their own rules. 

Complete lack of training and understanding in council tax is the most likely reason. They tend not to like to splash out on such luxuries as training.

I've lost count of the number of battles I've had with councils just to get through to someone on behalf of a client.

To update on the situation, Harrow Council have now responded saying 'I am unable to located any notifications from yourself that states the property is your second home until your first dispute.  As we were never informed prior to the empty premium being added, it was assumed that your property had been empty for 2 years.'  They go on to state that the premium can only be removed once proof has been provided that the property has been in use for the 2 years.  

Firstly, we were unaware that we had to infirm the council that the property was being used as a second home. Is it really the case that we should have done this even though we were paying our council tax bills as normal? 

Secondly, how on earth do we prove that it has been in use for my husband to stay at when working in the south? There's very little electric and gas use because he literally goes there to sleep. We've asked them to inspect the fact it is furnished but they have failed to do that.  I can see they are going to get away with what seems like daylight robbery. 

You're in to technical areas of legislation with this and any requirement to notify is dependent on the specifics of the council tax account and what was happening with it. I have a client with Newham council ongoing that I'm having a similar argument with at the moment, a right faff.

The furnished issue regarding premiums is one of the most common cases I see from clients, especially so at the moment, and can be a pain to argue with councils. It doesn't have to have been in use for the 2 yrs for the premium to be removed - it can be removed for any period and at any point the requisite conditions are not met for the premium to apply.

Thank you. I cannot find anything that Harrow have published which states a requirement to notify them about a property being used as a second home. 

I've got people who've done work in the flat who are therefore unbiased and would be able to verify the fact its furnished and has been over all of this period. 

That's because there is no legal requirement - there is a statutory requirement to them of a change in an existing discount, exemption or premium but that is the limit.

Just on Friday I sent a nice long email to council not far from yours outlining exactly why there was no legal requirement to notify them and exactly why their assertion there is is wrong. The reply should be interesting.

The furnishing aspect is very common, I don't think I've dealt with a premium case for a long time that hasn't resolved down to this particular issue.