Empty property tax query.

gettingfedupnow

Last year I bought a house at auction which had not been lived in since the 1980s.
I am currently renovating the property but the local council are charging council tax at double the rate. How can this help people who are trying to bring a house back to being habitable?
In some cases I believe they can charge upto 400%. 

user1977

It's kinda explained there - the tax is to encourage you to get it occupied...

cymruchris

Are you taking advantage of this scheme?

https://www.no-use-empty.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/property-tax-and-vat/reduced-vat-schemes/

And was there anything on the energy grants you were eligible for?

https://www.highpeak.gov.uk/article/329/Grant-assistance

Both links from the URL on the photo above.

They want to charge more to get the homes back to occupancy as quickly as possible. So if you're doing a weekend here and a weekend there over a long period, it's likely they'll want you to pay more. The encouragement is getting it done asap to minimise the extra charges. (But of course I do understand that some renovations can take considerably longer than others - particularly if you're gutting a house)

Mr.Generous

There are various stages of a renovation that qualify for a council tax break, one is joist replacement, I can't recall any others I've used but removing one rotten bathroom floor joist used to qualify.

The other alternative - to this totally unfair tax on the property rather than the new owner trying to get it habitable - is to move in. Sleep there 4 nights a week so its your main residence and qualify for a single occupant discount.

housebuyer143

I don't particularly think 12 months should be charged 200% as it can take that long or longer to sell it, but long term empty should encourage higher CT to get them back into supply.