Old cottage – planning status ?

[CliffordPope]

I am new to this forum, I found it via the Green Building forum. My question concerns the rules, if any, for bringing an unoccupied cottage back into residential use.

I live in a former farmhouse in isolated countryside, the property extending across a minor road to include a small cottage, much older than the main house.
When I bought the property in 1985 the cottage had been tenanted, but it has been unoccupied since. It is in sound condition but unmodernised, with private services connected. We have used it for storage and as occasional overspill accommodation.
I now intend bringing it up to a modern standard, with heating and decoration etc, as accommodation for my mother, who is 88 and finding living alone in her own home too difficult.

It has never been independently rated by the local authority, so perhaps in a sense has no legal existence. It does however appear on old maps, has its own name, and I have an aerial photograph taken in 1965 showing it looking pretty much as it does now.

Are there any legal issues I should be aware of, in just going ahead as outlined?
Does a “use” remain for all time, even if unused? Is its status just like an unused bedroom? Would it be like living in an outbuilding or summerhouse? Should I “own up” to the local authority and request a rating assessment? Apply for recognition of change of use - from what?
Or just keep quiet and wait for something to happen?

Many thanks

 

[Tom]

I'm not sure what, if any, bearing this will have on your situation but I believe that any building that could be lived in (ie. has a roof, services etc.) should be rated and those rates should be paid. This is why many old and/or remote cottages had their roof taken off; to avoid paying rates.

 

[MdB]

Hi CP, welcome to the forum.

I am very much not an expert on this but my understanding is that it can be a can of worms...

I believe that the date 1948 is important. If it was in use in 1948 then it is considered a property (and somebody should have being paying rates on it). If it wasn't then it isn't considered a property and hence planning permission is required to bring it back into use.

There was a case recently (mentioned here??) where a house that was basically complete, couldn't be used as a house as planning permission was turned down as it had been derelict since before 1948 and it was effectively on a green field site. I think it was also listed so the owner had to preserve it in its derelict state which was crazy in anybodies books.

 

[Schoolmarm]

I think, but not sure, that if Granny or another close family member will be living in it, there may not be any council tax due. I am not sure if the criteria is how closely linked to the main residence it will be.

 

[Tom]

As far as I'm aware, it has nothing to do with who lives in it or how close it is to another house. We have to pay Council Tax on our caravan because it's independant to the main house. It's classed as a completely seperate residence, even though we're only about 30-40 feet away from the house.

 

[AMc]

Only the planning dept. are going to be able to tell you for sure.

If the building has been unoccupied since 1985 then you can get significant reduction in VAT charged to you (to 5%) by a VAT registered builder to bring it back into use. Get that squared away with your builder before you start work as the rating of the job is their problem not the HMRC and you won't be able to reclaim VAT as a self builder either.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_PublicNoticesAndInfoSheets&id=HMCE_CL_000513&propertyType=document#P806_77180

AFAIK if the building is part of your property and you've been paying an assessed council tax on your property then I would hope it would have been legally covered by your payment - in the same way that I don't pay separate council tax on my garage. If once completed the property has its own meters etc. then it might become eligible for its own council tax bill. When you get building control approval for your renovation then it will undoubtably come to the attention of the rating people anyway (from my builders experience) so you're unlikely to 'avoid' that particular problem. At least the 15% reduction in VAT on the costs (from January) should soften the blow of the bills.

Your first port of call would be a call to the planning dept. to ask them if you need change of use permission to renovate your unoccupied residential building.

 

[CliffordPope]

Thanks, there are some useful pointers there.
It doesn't actually need much work, it's virtually inhabitable as it is. It really only needs cleaning, decorating, and some modern fittings. It certainly doesn't need building work.
It's an interesting point that somebody should have been paying rates on it since 1948! Or alternatively, it has been included in the overall assessment for rates just like the garage example mentioned. I suspect that it has simply not been noticed. It is angled at 90 degrees to the road, partly obscured by a falling-down tin shed.

My instinct is simply to do nothing. Are there any risks in that, other than perhaps having an argument one day about rates owing? Is it correct that after 4 years (starting from when?) I could apply for regularisation without any risk?

 

[Schoolmarm]

As far as I'm aware, it has nothing to do with who lives in it or how close it is to another house. We have to pay Council Tax on our caravan because it's independant to the main house. It's classed as a completely seperate residence, even though we're only about 30-40 feet away from the house.

So you are paying it on the main house as well?

 

[Schoolmarm]

Properties exempt from council tax

Some property is exempt from council tax altogether. It may be exempt for only a short period, for example, six months, or indefinitely.

Properties which may be exempt include:

* property which is empty. This means it has to be unoccupied. The property also has to be substantially unfurnished. The exemption applies for a maximum of six months and the property has to be vacant for the whole of this period (although up to six weeks of occupation during the period is allowed)
* property which is vacant because it needs major repairs or alterations to make it habitable. The exemption applies for a maximum of 12 months whether the work is actually finished or not by then
* condemned property
* property which has been legally re-possessed by a mortgage lender
* property unoccupied because the person who lived there now lives elsewhere because they need to be cared for, for example, in hospital, in a care home or with relatives
* property which is unoccupied because the person who lived there has gone to care for someone else
* any property that only students or Foreign Language Assistants on the official British Council programme live in. This may be a hall of residence, or a house
* a caravan or boat which is used as a main residence but which is unoccupied. This exemption lasts for up to six months. A holiday caravan or boat is exempt if it's on a property where council tax is paid
* a property where all the people who live in it are aged under 18
* property which is occupied only by people with severe mental impairment
* a self-contained ‘granny flat’ where the person who lives in it is a dependent relative of the owner of the main property.

 

[d49xc]

As far as I'm aware, it has nothing to do with who lives in it or how close it is to another house. We have to pay Council Tax on our caravan because it's independant to the main house. It's classed as a completely seperate residence, even though we're only about 30-40 feet away from the house.

So you are paying it on the main house as well?

My council regards such things as per DWB's post.
I know of a property with a separate "dwelling" (ie caravan/portacabin type) which was originally classed as dependent on the main house and therefore not assessed for council tax.
The Council reclassified it (or changed their classification rules - don't know which) and the property owners now have to pay council tax on the main house as before plus additionally council tax (Band A I think) on the caravan/portacabin thingy.
I should pint out that that the portacabin thingy was being used for living in by a person - it was not unoccupied.

 

[Tom]

As far as I'm aware, it has nothing to do with who lives in it or how close it is to another house. We have to pay Council Tax on our caravan because it's independant to the main house. It's classed as a completely seperate residence, even though we're only about 30-40 feet away from the house.

So you are paying it on the main house as well?

Not at the moment, as the main house is classed as uninhabitable. However, we did have to pay rates (bands F & A) on BOTH for 6 years, while we argued the toss that we shouldn't pay rates on both. We then got a rebate of 6 years after the house was declassified. However, we have been told that when we move back into the house, the caravan must be disconnected from the water, drains and electric otherwise they will class it as still habitable and we will then have to pay rates again for both.

 

[CliffordPope]

It sounds like a can of worms. The cottage has probably been all those categories at various times since 1885 when the farmer built the larger house, but none have been officially notified. I don't know whether it would be more advantageous to try and claim it was unoccupied and uninhabitable, but perhaps therefore not a dwelling, or occupied periodically so therefore a proper dwelling, but evading council tax. I daren't ask without having some arguments ready, and some preparation in the event of possible different responses.

It's actual projected use will be as an appendage to the house, occupied by a dependant relative in receipt of carer's allowance. Can it qualify as a granny flat even though not physically attached to the house? It shares the same electricity and (private)water supplies but has its own septic tank.

 

[Tom]

Why not call your local council, anonymously, and asked them the hypothetical question?

 

[CatherineB]

If I were in this situation, I would keep quiet.

That's not advice, you understand, but it's what I would do!

 

[robgil]

i would keep stush as well then play ignorant if someone caught on.
i believe council (poll) tax to be illegal anyway.
you could change it into a place of warship? we could all meet up there once a week and worship me.