Council Tax - Not banded

throughtheblue

I'm looking at renting a small barn/annex that belongs to owners that own and live in a bigger house on the same land. 
The barn is detached but doesn't have a separate address and has never been banded. I'm aware I would need to pay council tax on it, but would it mean being listed on the owners council tax, or a separate assessment for the property. The value of the place, I imagine is combined with their property, so I'm unsure if that is part of their banding assessment. It's technically a 1 bedroom with a mezzanine. 

ProDave

It probably does not have planning as a separate dwelling, a whole new can of works of not.

throughtheblue

ProDave said:

It probably does not have planning as a separate dwelling, a whole new can of works of not.

I believe they had planning permission for everything, and have contacted the council regarding getting a banding on the property, but as it's part of an 'estate', sitting on their land, next door to their property without a separate address, I don't know if that means we just get added to their council tax. 
They seem to think it could be above a Band E, but it's a one bed barn, I can't see how that would be the case.

TripleH

It night be that it is a rental property that cannot be separated from the main property. I assume this is a long term lease?

If owners are doing a naughty, they may well be letting it on long term rather than as a holiday let.

If latter, it would be subject to business rates but from the size, it may well be the value due is currently nil.

Di you have a separate water / gas / electric meter?

throughtheblue

TripleH said:

It night be that it is a rental property that cannot be separated from the main property. I assume this is a long term lease?

If owners are doing a naughty, they may well be letting it on long term rather than as a holiday let.

If latter, it would be subject to business rates but from the size, it may well be the value due is currently nil.

Di you have a separate water / gas / electric meter?

I think very occasionally it's been a holiday let, but now it's becoming a longer term let.

The water supply is their own natural supply, with sceptic tank, that also runs into the property. The barn has a separate electric meter but supplied from the main property. 

TripleH

Then it sounds like they are doing a naughty from what has been posted.

For what little it's worth, does your contract say council tax is included as part of rent?

I'd maybe ask that is included (although it may be too late). I'd also look at putting aside some money equivalent to what you'd pay for a band A property each month. This is in case the council realise what is going on.

Whilst not your direct problem, you ultimately could be held liable and if you don't end up paying, its a nice little sum for something else.

no_moolah

Hi throughtheblue, I'm helping someone who is renting an apartment that sounds similar (mostly identical) to your set up (self-contained detached outbuilding where landlord lives in a separate building in the same grounds).

From the VAO's website: "By law, any building, or part of a building, which has been constructed or adapted for use as separate living accommodation must have its own banding."

So the annexe you're looking at should have it's own band. It's also worth noting the VAO is separate from the council.

Can you check the planning permission on the council's website to confirm that what the owner's have said about planning permission is true? In the case I'm dealing with, the owner claimed to have done lots of things that they hadn't actually done (no planning permission, no building regs...etc). They're also treating the tenant as a lodger and therefore haven't protected their deposit, even though being in a separate building means its more likely to be an AST. So this is something else you'd have to think about, especially if the owner might already be cutting corners with council tax...

Not wishing to put you off a potentially good rental opportunity but it's worth double checking these things for peace of mind.

throughtheblue

TripleH said:

Then it sounds like they are doing a naughty from what has been posted.

For what little it's worth, does your contract say council tax is included as part of rent?

I'd maybe ask that is included (although it may be too late). I'd also look at putting aside some money equivalent to what you'd pay for a band A property each month. This is in case the council realise what is going on.

Whilst not your direct problem, you ultimately could be held liable and if you don't end up paying, its a nice little sum for something else.

As it currently stands, it's something being planned for about 3 months time. We haven't gone through contracts yet, but it would the standardised Scottish government contract for tenancies. 

We would pay rent to them and bills, but then my impression was we'd have our own council tax/account numbers (all legit). They have got the ball rolling, but because it doesn't have a different address, sits on their land with shared resources does this mean it would need the assessors to give the barn it's own banding, or we formally get listed on their current council tax?

TripleH

Right, you may have to wait for one of the knowledgeable folks on rules around renting in Scotland. My knowledge is purely only English based and some of my comments may well not be applicable.

I'd also amend your title to include Scotland in it to avoid getting incorrect advice.

Good luck.

throughtheblue

no_moolah said:

Hi throughtheblue, I'm helping someone who is renting an apartment that sounds similar (mostly identical) to your set up (self-contained detached outbuilding where landlord lives in a separate building in the same grounds).

From the VAO's website: "By law, any building, or part of a building, which has been constructed or adapted for use as separate living accommodation must have its own banding."

So the annexe you're looking at should have it's own band. It's also worth noting the VAO is separate from the council.

Can you check the planning permission on the council's website to confirm that what the owner's have said about planning permission is true? In the case I'm dealing with, the owner claimed to have done lots of things that they hadn't actually done (no planning permission, no building regs...etc). They're also treating the tenant as a lodger and therefore haven't protected their deposit, even though being in a separate building means its more likely to be an AST. So this is something else you'd have to think about, especially if the owner might already be cutting corners with council tax...

Not wishing to put you off a potentially good rental opportunity but it's worth double checking these things for peace of mind.

Thanks, that's answered my question regarding whether it needs it's own banding. I knew we'd obviously pay council tax but didn't know if their banding assessment included the barn. 

Deposits will be placed in approved scheme. It's all above board regarding the terms for us, but it's just waiting for SAA to assess it now. Do you know if this is a long process for a banding assessment to take place?