Amalgamation of 2 flats - Council Tax

Rhimag

Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience of amalgamating 2 properties in to 1, and dealing with the council tax issue? As in, do I just tell the council that instead of 2 bills, i will only be expecting 1 bill from now on? Do I need to prove that I've amalgamated the 2 properties in some way?

All i find when i search online is the planning aspect (required/not required - not the info I need) but this simple question doesn't seem to have an answer. My council are so terrible at answering phones or replying to emails that I am hoping to have as much info on this as possible before I contact them!

Cheers all

Rhi

theartfullodger

It's up to the council to assess.

Be polite, calm & friendly:  The alternative tends to result in not good reaction.

user1977

Presumably the council (via their other departments) will already know that the properties have been merged because you've dealt with planning, building regulations etc?

caprikid1

I think the most difficult one my brother found was the TV Licensing !.

macman

The council don't band it, that's the job of the VOA. Presumably you ask for an inspection once the properties are re-registered with the Land Registry as a single entity.

user1977

macman said:

The council don't band it, that's the job of the VOA. Presumably you ask for an inspection once the properties are re-registered with the Land Registry as a single entity.

How they're registered at the LR isn't relevant to council tax.

sheramber

It would be the VOA that you notify and they would reband the property.

lincroft1710

The VOA will deal with the banding and if the flats now meet the criteria for a single dwelling, will re-assess as one

Rhimag

Thanks all; there's no need for the planning dept as I don't need planning permission, or building regs either - I will contact the VOA as that seems to be the general consensus! Cheers all 👍

eddddy

Rhimag said:

there's no need for the planning dept as I don't need planning permission, 

Have you discussed this with the planning dept, and have they indicated they won't raise any issues? Have you got a Certificate of Lawful Development - or has the council implied that they would issue one?

It seems like it's a bit of a grey area, and different planning depts can make different decisions:

An inspector judged the amalgamation of two flats into a single dwelling in a popular Devon coastal village amounted to a material change of use and agreed the council had been correct in refusing to issue a LDC.

Link: https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1667347/flat-amalgamation-held-change-use

A case between "The London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames v SSETR and Richmond-upon-Thames Churches Housing Trust [2000]" ended up in the high court. (That involved amalgamating 7 flats into one house, but the principles would be the same for amalgamating 2 flats.)

Some info on that case:
https://www.ashfords.co.uk/news-and-media/general/amalgamation-of-dwellings-constitutes-material-change-of-use
https://www.isurv.com/directory_record/4792/richmond_upon_thames_london_borough_council_v_secretary_of_state_for_the_environment_transport_and_the_regions

user1977

Rhimag said:

there's no need for the planning dept as I don't need planning permission, or building regs either 

I'm intrigued how you can make two flats into one without involving building regs, as those come into even relatively minor works.