Flat in house

[Finlaye]

Hi, new to site and have a problem.

My house (before I purchased) was previously let as three units. So when I bought it I was given three lots of council tax to pay, although I live in the house as single person, they altered my tax on one of the units with single person discount but I still have to pay for the other two.

Now the local council say as they other two are unoccupied I will be charged double the tax on both. Yet I have explained that I myself occupied thd whole building but they say I can only occupy one of the units.

Is there anything I can do, as this has cost me £4500 this year and new bill arriving soon. Which I am dreading.

Many thanks.

[PallasAthena]

Finlaye What I assume is happening is that the three flats are still listed for CT purposes as three separate dwellings so CT will be applied separately to each of them. If the other two "flats" are unoccupied and you are the owner you are liable to pay it.

Councils are allowed to charge double the standard CT on unoccupied dwellings and with them being so short of money many councils now do this. Sounds like yours is one of them.

Decisions about whether it is now one dwelling or if it is still three are made by the Valuation Office Agency [VOA] not the council. If VOA assess it as one dwelling they will notify the council and tell the council what CT band to charge. Unless and until VOA do that the council will continue charging as three dwellings. The council has no discretion in this.

Unfortunately I don't think changes made by the VOA are backdated so the sooner you talk to them the better. I have no personal experience but from what I've read the VOA will not re-assess as one dwelling if it would still be possible for your house to be occupied as three dwellings. If you have made no building alterations since you purchased the house it may well be that the VOA will say it is still three dwellings. You would need to do building work to convert it to one house (which might need planning permission).

Start talking to the VOA and go forward from there. Complaining to the council is a waste of time, their hands are tied, although they could have been more helpful in explaining and pointing you to the VOA!

[Finlaye]

Thank you for your reply. Yes you are correct, I contacted the VOA and they refused to change it but said I could try and appeal the decision. So basically, unless I rent out space in my house I have to pay double taxes, this is theconly option. After reading posts on here could I claim one unit as granny annexe maybe?

[PallasAthena]

If you intend to live there longer term as one house you could undertake appropriate building works to convery it to one dwelling. Let VOA see the plans before you start any work.

According to this website [from a builder of granny annexes] a "granny annexe" is only exempt if it is occupied by a dependent relative of yours. So if you have two of your own grannies looking for somewhere to live....

Our Guide on Granny Annexe Council Tax Rules - iHUS (ihusannexe.com)

[Finlaye]

Ha! Yes, I see. Thanks for explanation. I spoke to my solicitor who explained it is a freehold single dwelling on deeds and land registry so we are confused how council have it as three dwellings. I cannot find a way out of this, so have been advised to sell the property.

[Finlaye]

So do you have to pay seperate council tax on unoccupied granny annexe.?

[PallasAthena]

" I cannot find a way out of this, so have been advised to sell the property." I hope it wasn't your solicitor who advised you that!

The way out is straightforward: building work to convert it back to a single dwelling house and get VOA to reassess it for CT. But do check with them whether your plans would achieve that before starting work. And check with the council if planning permission is needed.

If you can't afford to do that at the moment let out one or both flats until you can. Then the occupants will be liable for the CT.

I'm not an expert on this but I don't think you can just declare it a granny annexe unless you granny is actually living in it. So AIUI if it's unoccupied it can't be an exempt granny annexe.

Selling the house seems like a rather dramatic response!

[Finlaye]

Cannot do works as does not need it is perfectly fine. Apart from being deemed three units. Three story terraced house and each of the three floors is seen as a seperate unit, but can also be seen as a normal house.

The kitchens were removed previously, when I bought it but a bathroom on each floor is handy. I did explain to VOA, but they will not budge. Seems very complicated to me, and cannot afford £4,500 each year. Do not want to have to rent out areas of my home, as prefer to live privately in my house.

Thank you for reply though, most helpful.

[Pezza54]

Most LAs will consider the conversion of a property that is divided into flats back to a single dwelling as Permitted Development. Unfortunately some LAs, particularly where there is a housing need, do not and will resist such a planning application. You could try emailing your LA's planning department to find out whether they would consider this conversion as permitted development
Have you got a single meter for the gas, electricity and water supply?

You could apply to your LA for a lawful development certificate, costs about £300

If you get approval, get plans produced showing one dwelling, changing room names.
If you succeed in doing this you should then appeal the VOA decision providing the ldc and plans

[Finlaye]

Thank you for this. It does seem a lot of work and may not be successful. You are right the is a housing need, I should have realised before purchase.