2 council tax bills

dulling2000

We bought a property that had an extension back in 2008 for a granny annexe. We assumed wrongly that as it only had one council tax so would we. The valuation office have decided that it is 2. We are not using it as an annexe but as a single home. The planning permission said it could only be used as a single dwelling but the valuation office say that's irrelevant as the application of council tax over rules it. The utility room (they say is kitchen) has a sink but no cooker point, which I heard was a reason the courts rejected a claim for multiple property stamp duty relief for someone. The annexe as they call it is linked to the house by a sliding door that is not a fire door, and we do not believe the ceiling is fire resistant beyond a layer of  plasterboard. We want to get it under one council tax band. What is the best way to argue it to the valuation tribunal. We really would like to keep the shower and the utility sink, but if necessary could loose either, but the sink pipework also supplies the outdoor taps so don't want to remove it all. Is it possible there are grounds, sliding door (which we could remove), cooker point, planning that would enable the annexe to be treated as part of the house without capital expenditure ? Who would help without it costing thousands.

FlorayG

They only decided this just now? Or they decided in 2008 and you are just now querying? Just for clarification, please

DE_612183

Think they are saying the annex was built in 2008 - sure this should have come up on the conveyancing?

FlorayG

ONe of  my friends used to let out a self-contained annexe and it had separate council tax. When the last tenant left she decided she wanted the space herself and to incorporate it as part of the main house. In order to revert to one council tax she was required to brick up the main outside entrance of the annexe so that it could only be accessed via the main house
Basically, they are saying that you may be claiming it's just part of your house now, but they won't know if you decide to rent it out and don't tell them so they are covering their bases

user1977

DE_612183 said:

Think they are saying the annex was built in 2008 - sure this should have come up on the conveyancing?

I don't think it's normal for the conveyancers to start looking into council tax matters.

p00hsticks

FlorayG said:

They only decided this just now? Or they decided in 2008 and you are just now querying? Just for clarification, please

I'm guessing that  the OP has recently bought the property, but it was flagged with an improvement indicator on the council tax register when the previous owners did the extension, which means the council tax banding was recently revisited following the sale. But we'll see if the OP confirms or denies that this is the case....

DE_612183

user1977 said:

DE_612183 said:

Think they are saying the annex was built in 2008 - sure this should have come up on the conveyancing?

I don't think it's normal for the conveyancers to start looking into council tax matters.

Yeah, I guess so - I just thought it would come up on the T6 or T10 forms - perhaps not though...

lincroft1710

Apart from the shower room and utility what other rooms are in the annexe? When did it first become separately banded?


Lack of fire resistant doors or ceilings, planning permission conditions and whether or not multiple property stamp duty relief is applicable are all irrelevant when deciding if a property should have more than one CT band.

TripleH

My younger brother has a house with a 'basement flat'. He had to pay two lots of council tax on it until the kitchen area of the flat was ripped out.

Think he had an inspector round to confirm that it was now a basement games room and not easy to use as a separate dwelling but he was having a lot of work done on his house anyway.

Bookworm105

as lincroft says, the items you flag are mostly irrelevant

to merge an annex with its own band back into the banding of the main house you have to show an inspector that the annex is no longer capable of being a "self contained" living space

to be self contained it has to have a means of washing yourself/ toilet and a place to prepare food ("kitchen").
At some point in the past it had to have been in use as a living space or it would not have its own banding.
You need to directly address either or both of those key physical aspects of living 

dulling2000

Sorry, never got any notifications to say there were replies.

The extension was built in 2008, we bought it in 2023, that was the first time they had reassessed it for Council Tax and added the annex banding. So we are not querying what already existed.

The conveyancing solicitor who acted also for the mortgage lender (who would not lend on an annexe) were happy that it only had one band and planning said could only be used as a single dwelling. 

The other 2 rooms are just rooms, playroom/classroom and sewing/craft room. Though they could be used for anything.

The only door between the 2 is sliding and non fire rated.

The original planning said it could only be used as a single dwelling.

With no cooker point there is no means for cooking in the extension.

There is a single wooded back room from the utility part and a double patio door from one of the rooms.

It seems daft that there is not a reassessment done when a construction completion certificate is lodged with the council and the previous owners did not have this issue for 16 years.