changes to council tax for renovations

[Navyreg1970]

I am currently renovating an early victorian farmhouse in Lincolnshire and at present do not pay council tax as the house is undergoing structural repair and as a result is not habitable.

I received a letter this week from South Holland council stating that their policy will be changing in March and the property will now have to pay 75% of the council tax bill (which will be £900 per year)

Additionaly they added that any renovation that went past 2 years would result in the council tax rising to 150% of the normal rate.

I am fortunate that I do not have listed status or I am sure that my project could have stretched past 2 years.

They say that it is to discourage empty propertys but I think it will deter people from taking on renovations when it would be quicker and cheaper to knock down and start again.

Has anyone else had a similar letter from their local council tax office?

 

[robgil]

I was not told about the 150 percent. We currently have 100 percent exemption but it only lasts a year.

 

[Keithj]

I had a similar letter from South Norfolk council. 75% rising to 150% - to prevent houses being left empty. Stand by for a lot of semi-derelict properties being demolished.

 

[robgil]

Its not fair is it, not only are we being crippled with the cost of fixing up old houses (usually because nobody else wants to) now we get penalised for it as well.

 

[Flyfisher]

I don't think this is a change aimed at renovations as such, though it will definitely affect such works.

I received a letter last year from our council tax people explaining forthcoming changes by central government that would allow councils a bit more freedom in how they handle council taxes. The letter invited comments and suggestions but I can't remember the details.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I received a letter explaining changes to our council tax arrangement from April. "Long Term Empty" properties used to get 50% discount on council tax and as half of our house qualifies we've benefited from this for the past three years on the empty half.

From April, there will no longer be any discount for such properties, so they must pay 100% council tax. After two years of being classified as empty, they will have to pay 150% council tax. As we've already had more than two years discount, we would have to pay 150% from April.

Fortunately for us, our kitchen extension works should be completed before April, so we'll just scrape into the deadline and not have to pay the 150% rate.

I can understand the basic intention of bringing empty houses back into use but 2 years to complete renovations on a listed property will often be insufficient time (our last LBC process took about 9 months in all when including all the pre-application consultations with the CO and EH).

So, along with the recent VAT changes and now these council tax changes, the cost of listed properties has gone up again. But there's nothing to be done so hey ho.

Although . . . . . what's the definition of "empty"? If someone claims to be living in a property while it's being renovated, then presumably the 150% rate won't apply?

 

[GhostyDog]

It's the same for vacant rental properties, I was told by our local council that from March we no longer have exemption from paying council tax because the property is void.

Need to find a tenant quick...

 

[88v8]

I seem to recall quite a lot of forum members living, or should that be camping, in their house during renovation. Perhaps a change in the priority of work, get the bathroom and a basic kitchen going and move in, with or without a tent.

But seriously, yes, the demolition of some empty but saveable properties seems inevitable. Another unforeseen consequence of well-intentioned but poorly detailed legislation.

Ivor

 

[vicky whitworth]

Does the tenant have to be human? Let the wee mousies move in. Open the door to rats. Get bats in the belfry. Give them names and a rent book.

 

[markm]

Happening in Wiltshire too.

I have had a year at 100% reduction. Now on 10% reduction. Just got a letter saying that from April, there will be no discount.

I have tenants lined up and waiting to move it, but the lime plaster is taking an age to dry. I do not think that councils understand that old buildings take more time to removate properly.

I agree, I can good housing being knocked down to save on rates. I remember reading somewhere, that this may already be happening with ownership of old (but not listed) commercial property. Currently you get 6 months and have to pay the business rates if you cannot find a tenant. This is of course quite difficult in this economic climate.

Mark M

 

[CliffordPope]

Surely it just needs a bit of adjustment to the renovation programme?
Get one room done and then move in.

 

[DJH]

Sorry, posted twice so I've removed this one...

 

[DJH]

We don't have rates as such over here on domestic properties but a Property Tax is being introduced based on a percentage of the self assessed ( :roll: ) value of the property and is for six months only this year and then yearly from January next year. Presently the tax is worked out on about 1.5% of the value which has been set by central government and the revenue collected is supposedly for the Local Authorities to help pay for public services. These services do not include refuse/waste collections or contributions to police, fire service or water. From about 2014/15 Local Authorities will set the percentage of the property value to be taxed up to 15/%. The Revenue are presently compiling a property value guideline based on a newly formed Property Price Register 2010 and is taking an average of property prices in each area from sales during the last few years. From memory two have been sold locally, a 2 bedroom farmhouse and buildings on three quarters of an acre for €42k and a newish house for €90k. Based on these figures my tax should be about €100 this year and €200 next year.

Last year a one off Property Tax of €100 was imposed and collected by central government and of about 1.6 million properties just over one million have paid. The idea of this one off tax was for the government to actually work out how many houses there are in Ireland and the form to be returned with payment also wanted a PPS number, which is similar to the NHS number in the UK, and to know if the property has a septic tank and private water supply. These last two were required because septic tanks have to be registered over here to comply with an EU directive and water meters are to be installed on all properties without a private supply.

Although the collection of this one off tax was collected by government not by Local Authorities, Government have reduced their grants to the Local Authorities by the percentage of people who have not paid the tax in that Authorities district. From this year the Revenue will collect the Property Tax by credit card, monthly direct debit and from source such as salary, welfare payments, pensions and will access bank accounts and deduct the amount due from there. The Tax can be deferred for the elderly onto the property as a charge to be paid off after death by sale or the inheritor.

Septic tanks will now have to be licensed every year or two and will be inspected by Local Authority inspectors and faults corrected within 3 months before court, fines and maybe jail. Most septic tanks here are merely holes in the ground with minimum soakage or percolation and, those owners who did not registered their tank before 1st February this year will not be able to apply for an upgrade grant. It's assumed at the moment that unregisterd tanks and those properties nearest to water courses will be inspected first.

Getting more to the point of this topic, exemptions from the Property Tax include council tenants, private tenants as the landlord is liable, and residents on so called ghost estates where there are uncompleted services such as roads and street lights etc. I believe there are well over a thousand of these estates in Ireland.

Doug

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh, money-grabbing awfulness, and yes, doubtless we will see more examples of inconvenient properties mysteriously bursting into flames or being pulled down. So sad.

For the die-hard enthusiasts like us though, I doubt anything financial would off-put. I think there's something in our national spirit that means there'll always be people prepared to go through a good deal of hardship and unnecessary expense to do up a period property, it's been going on for hundreds of years and shows no signs of stopping!

Thanks for the alert to the issue as this will apply to our joint owned empty property in Leeds, I believe the brother who lived there until November last year paid council tax but I'd imagine since he's moved out this will now have to be split in half for the time it takes to do it up, put it on the market, and sell.

And welcome to NavyReg1970, another forum member in lovely Lincs!

 

[DJH]

I think there's something in our national spirit that means there'll always be people prepared to go through a good deal of hardship and unnecessary expense to do up a period property

There's something in the national spirit here to have nothing to do with the establishment and anyone in authority... :twisted:

I hope you are feeling better now Joce. Our one-eyed hen Rosemary , who was nearly 6 years old, dropped off the perch yesterday. She must have died in her sleep and fallen off.

Doug

 

[Flyfisher]

Property-based tax is inherently unfair as it is not based on the owner's ability to pay. It takes long enough to get on the property ladder at all these days and when you do buy a home (out of already taxed income!) you have to pay a tax on the price (stanp duty). Then you move a few times for various reasons, each time paying more tax (out of already taxed income!) until you finally end up in a nice house that might, through no fault of your own, be worth a few bob by the time you retire and your income drops. At which point you may be forced to sell up and move and pay more tax!

Surely it wouldn't be too difficult to impose a local income tax to fund councils? At least such a tax would be related to someone's ability to pay.

Pah! I'm in a bad mood now.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Hear hear Flyfisher. All so irksome. Is it time to open the wine yet to cheer ourselves up?

I hope you are feeling better now Joce. Our one-eyed hen Rosemary , who was nearly 6 years old, dropped off the perch yesterday. She must have died in her sleep and fallen off.

Doug

I am much much much better, thank you, and even managed a poo pick in the runs today, not the nicest of jobs to get back into, but needed doing. Very sad about poor Rosemary, I know how fond you were. We also had to despatch Stymphalides last week, a little bantam cockerel I hatched, astonishingly fierce, and in love with Maud three times his size. I suspect he had Mareks disease

Still, they give us a lot of pleasure whilst alive.

 

[Flyfisher]

Is it time to open the wine yet to cheer ourselves up?

Always . . . albeit at the cost of more tax. :evil: