workingn abroad & council tax single occupancy

[Sparticus7990]

Hi
Recently I received my council tax bill this was for the full amount . Up until last year I had a tenant in the property and the council tax was paid by them . The property is furnished and I live there when I return to the UK and it is my permanent residence ( when I am in UK ) The council have stated that this is not classed as my residence as it is unfurnished and this is not my Main residence so I do not qualify for single person rebate on this property .

[seduraed]

Re: workingn abroad & council tax single occupancy

You are stating that the residence is furnished but the council believe it to be unfurnished so no single discount . Do you have a friendly neighbour who could show the council that the property is indeed furnished or arrange to meet them there when you are next in the UK?

[Snoopy1948]

Re: workingn abroad & council tax single occupancy

Hi
Recently I received my council tax bill this was for the full amount . Up until last year I had a tenant in the property and the council tax was paid by them . The property is furnished and I live there when I return to the UK and it is my permanent residence ( when I am in UK ) The council have stated that this is not classed as my residence as it is unfurnished and this is not my Main residence so I do not qualify for single person rebate on this property .

Hi there .......

you first state that the property is furnished and then you state that "The council have stated that this is not classed as my residence as it is unfurnished ". Can you clarify that please? Has the council actually inspected the property to decide if it is furnished or unfurnished?

I have taken the following information off a local authority site :
What if I temporarily leave my home?

We can usually only award a Council Tax Reduction to a person who lives in a property as their home. However, in certain circumstances, we can continue to apply the reduction while you are temporarily away from home. To decide if we can apply the reduction while you are away from home, we need to know:

• why you are away from your home; and
• how long you will be away.

If we decide that we can continue to apply the reduction while you are away, we must then decide how long we can continue this for. Depending on the reason for the absence, this will be either 13 weeks or 52 weeks.
Qualifying conditions for a temporary absence

While you are away from home, you must meet the following conditions:

• You must be planning to return home
• You must not be away for more than 13 weeks or 52 weeks (the 52 week rule does not apply to you )

People applying for a temporary absence who fall under the 13-week rule

• Convicted prisoners serving a custodial sentence
• People who are away from home doing paid or unpaid work in the United Kingdom or abroad
• People who enter residential accommodation on a temporary basis to find out whether or not it would suit them as a permanent home
• People who are on holiday or visiting relatives away from home or abroad

Seems to me that if you live there when you return to the UK and it is visibly furnished, you may get the single occupancy discount you are not away for more than 13 works. If it is unfurnished, clearly it cannot be regarded as main residence and would be classed as an empty property which could be regarded as a 'wasted resource' by some authorities and the council tax may be escalated under such circumstances.

Sometimes, people simply tell the local authority that they live in it as a single occupant to maintain an easy life but you have to always remember that building and contents insurances are also affected if you remain away from an empty property for more than, I believe, 30 days.