Empty house

[oldexpat]

If your house is empty do you have to pay council tax? My house has been empty for nearly a year now and they are saying that I have to start paying council tax, £100 per month even though it is empty?!

[hc4361]

50% after 6 months.

[karenmac60]

Make sure you keep electricity bills though. I had a flat lie empty for 2 years and they charged me the full whack afterwards (my ex said he had sorted it all out - he hadn't done squat) and I couldn't supply electric bills cos the power company didn't keep them that far back so I had no option but to pay. They won't accept any other type of bills to prove it is empty - only electricity and it has to be at zero usage.

[Buenchico]

Sorry, there's no 50% rate. If the house has remained furnished while it has had no occupier, you should have been paying 90% of the full Council Tax throughout the whole period. If it's unfurnished, you were not required to pay Council Tax for the first 6 months but you should have been paying the FULL Council Tax after 6 months.

From my local council's website:
"If a property you own becomes unoccupied you must tell staff in the Council Tax department immediately. You could qualify for a reduction if the property is unfurnished. For six months from the date the property becomes unfurnished, there is no tax payable, provided the property remains unfurnished and is not lived in. After that, full Council Tax is payable. The person responsible for paying is the owner or the person who holds a lease or rental agreement. If at any time during the six months the property becomes occupied or furnished, you must tell us immediately".

Source:
http://www.midsuffolk...scountsAllowances.htm

And from where I used to live:
http://www.sheffield....-your-bill/empty-home

Chris

[donna1901]

no you have a reduced rate! you contact the council and they will inspect

[Buenchico]

So Donna prefers not to believe both Mid Suffolk District Council and Sheffield City Council? (READ THE LINKS!)

The only exceptions to what I've stated (and linked to) above are when there are specific circumstances relating to the reason why a property has been left unoccupied. For example, there is no Council Tax to pay if the (nominal) occupier is actually in hospital, in a care home or in prison. Otherwise what I've stated above is correct.

The '50% rule', which others seem to be referring to, applied only to furnished properties left unoccupied prior to April 2004. That has now been replaced by the '90% rule', which I've referred to above.

Chris

[alexanderd]

chris I am executor of my late aunts will and am trying to sell her house which is now empty. I have had exemption from council tax for six months and have just received a letter to say i have to pay 50% from October. Is it different in different parts of the country?

[oldexpat]

My things in storage would be cheaper than 90%

[Buenchico]

Alexander:
When an empty house forms part of a deceased person's estate, it is totally exempt from Council Tax until probate has been granted. It then remains exempt from Council Tax for a further 6 months. However every web reference I can find states that the FULL Council Tax becomes payable after that period (which seems to confirm my understanding of the rules). For example, see here from Ryedale District Council:
http://www.ryedale.go...emptions.aspx#class_f
(The same rules should apply throughout England and Wales. Scotland and NI might be different)

Oldexpat:
If, as your post implies, your house has remained furnished, you seem to have got off very lightly so far!
;-)

Chris

[alexanderd]

chris you may be right but thats the letter I have received so thats all I am going to pay(lets hope I can sell the house soon)

[Buenchico]

I'm with you on that, Alexander. Never pay more than you have to!
;-)

Chris

[4getmenot]

wow you learn something new everyday, I didnt think I had to pay a thing. I own a flat thats been empty since december

[Hazel104]

I believe it does vary, I know Hackney is different, see right at the bottom you can apply for 50% off if the property is empty.

http://www.hackney.go...-tax-discounts-59.htm

[Skyline D]

Copy and paste from my local Council's website on Council tax Discounts:

"Discounts - Unoccupied Properties
You may qualify for a reduction from paying Council Tax.

You may qualify for a 10% reduction in your council tax if:
•The property is unoccupied
•The property is unoccupied and earlier discounts/exemptions have run out

You may qualify for a 50% reduction in your council tax if:
•The property is unoccupied and unfurnished and the 6 months exemption period has ended (6 months maximum)
•The property is undergoing structural work (6 months maximum)
•The property is job related
•The property is a purpose built holiday home

which basically says if the property is empty and unfurnished then it's exempt for six months, 50% for a further six months and 90% thereafter.

Certainly when we bought our house in August 2001 it lay empty until we moved in during February 2002 because it needed a lot of work on it. That was the deal then and clearly still is. I was told by the Council that in order for it to be defined as "unfurnished" it needed to have no bed in it and the one we were storing in a spare room on site had to be removed to qualify. (It never was but we told them we had moved it! We genuinely weren't living in it).