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Original poster

Buying a house, and council tax

22 replies

angell84 · 16/10/2019 13:10

Hello ,

I am in the process of buying an unoccupied house. My solicitor has just told me that if a house is unoccupied for more than 2 years, I will have to pay 150% more council tax on it per month. She said that she will not to the search on that.

How do I check how long it has been unoccupied for?

OP posts:
sall74 · 16/10/2019 13:22

I can understand increased council tax on vacant properties as a disincentive to leave them empty, but surely it can't be correct that you as the new owner occupier would have to continue paying this increased rate of council tax?

(That's assuming you are planning to occupy it and not continue to leave it empty)?

YogaDrone · 16/10/2019 13:23

Surely the vendor knows?

The Council Tax section at the council will obviously know but I don't know whether they'd be able to tell you.

zelbazinnamon · 16/10/2019 13:28

What council is it under? Sounds crazy.

Original poster
angell84 · 16/10/2019 13:31

This is the email that she sent me. Is this right? I will be buying the house to live in it.

"local authorities may charge a premium on a class of property that has been unoccupied and unfurnished for 2 years or more. The amount of this premium could be as high as 150% after recent increases were announced with proposals for higher rates to apply. This is to punish people who keep homes unoccupied in circumstances where the Government has determined that there is a general shortage of available housing.

If the property you are buying has been unoccupied before completion, that period will count towards the two-year period, so you may find that a premium is added to the Council Tax bill dependent upon when the property became vacant, not from the date you purchased it."

OP posts:
AnchorDownDeepBreath · 16/10/2019 13:31

The exemption for empty properties was abolished in 2013 - where I am, you are allowed the property to be empty for one month, and then you pay 200% of the due council tax, as of April 2019.

Bit misleading because the top of the webpage refers to 100%, and there's a tiny update at the bottom!

The council website where you are should confirm how much would be payable, and the vendor would need to confirm how long it's been empty for.

Original poster
angell84 · 16/10/2019 13:34

Is this right?

She said if it has been unoccupied for two years, even after I buy it - I will have to pay the massively increased council tax.

OP posts:
YogaDrone · 16/10/2019 13:41

Yes, some council's charge 1.5 or even 2 times the usual Council Tax on empty properties. A lot of these Council's are those with a lot of holiday or second homes in their areas. They're trying to dissuade people from leaving properties empty.

But if you are moving into the house after completion this won't affect you anyway, you will just pay the standard occupied rate in accordance with the property band from the date of completion.

zelbazinnamon · 16/10/2019 13:45

It doesn't sound right that you will have to pay a higher rate once you've bought it & are living in it. The easiest thing to do is ask the council tax department at your council what their policy is.

Original poster
angell84 · 16/10/2019 13:49

Are you sure @YogaDrone, she has really scared me!

Wouldn't it make sense , that when you move in, the council tax starts woth the new owner.

Has anyone moved into an unoccupied property, can you tell me what happened?

OP posts:
zelbazinnamon · 16/10/2019 13:52

Which council is it under? You will be able to get a definite answer by looking on their website or calling them to ask.

Sooverthemill · 16/10/2019 13:53

I don't think the solicitor is right. LA can charge extra to home owners who keep the property empty for 2 years. This is to encourage people not to leave properties empty in areas of high housing need. The liability is to the owner who leaves it empty. If when you have bought it you do not continue to leave it empty you won't be charged the extra. But if it's uninhabitable eg needs total gutting then you may have to. But telephone the Council Tax department of the relevant LA. They are usually very helpful

YogaDrone · 16/10/2019 13:58

Yes I'm sure Smile. As zelbazinnamon says take a look at the council's website and if you are still worried give them a ring.

I used to manage a CTax dept many years ago but the legislation is the same now - you will only take responsibility for paying the CT on a property from the date you complete your sale.

If you are two or more adults occupying the house then you will pay the standard council tax charge for your properties band, this is calculated on a daily rate. If you are the only adult occupier than your will be entitled to a 25% discount for single occupancy. There are other disregarded adults too - those who are full time students on qualifying courses for example.

You will not be responsible for paying for any of the charge for the property from before you buy it.

YogaDrone · 16/10/2019 14:00

sorry, awful typos and grammar but hopefully you get the drift Smile

Original poster
angell84 · 16/10/2019 14:02

Thank you SO much @yogadrone, and everyone else that posted.

I am in The merseyside area.

Thans, you have been so helpful

OP posts:
dancemom · 16/10/2019 14:10

The empty property premium will only be in place while the property is empty.

The normal council tax charge will be reinstated as soon as you occupy the property.

YogaDrone · 16/10/2019 14:10

Okay, here's the CT page from Knowsley's website: Knowsley MBC

and here's Liverpool City's: LCC

These should help and give you lots of info. All the council's will have a similar page on their website with their specific details.

Good luck with your house move Flowers

Sooverthemill · 16/10/2019 17:35

But your solicitor really ought to know better! Is it an actual solicitor or a conveyancer? I'm not impressed at all by the gobbledygook.

@yogadrone when council tax was being introduced I used to go round LAs and train them in how to implement it. Such joy!

Blobby10 · 17/10/2019 08:55

@angell84 please do call the relevant council and come back to tell us what they said! Whilst I totally support the extra council tax on unoccupied properties that are treated as holiday homes, it surely can't be right and certainly not fair that a new owner has to pay extra because the previous owner didn't live there!

YogaDrone · 17/10/2019 09:24

Blobby10 the new owner (Angel) will only be liable for the charge from the time she completes and at the standard occupied rate. A new owner can NEVER be responsible for the debts of a previous owner (unless they were joint owners but that's a different thread!)

@Sooverthemill - I remember CT implementation! The LA I was at used Oracle RDBMS with a GUI interface. I was young then Shock Grin

LAA2 · 17/10/2019 09:32

We used to live in a house that was unoccupied for at least 7 years and our council tax bill was the normal rate for the whole time we lived there. We moved in there in 2012 and lived there for 5 years.

Original poster
angell84 · 17/10/2019 11:11

Thank you for that @laa2.

@yogadrone thank you very much for your relvant help.

@Blobby10 I spoke to the council, and they said that if I live there - I will pay the normal rate.

Thanks all

OP posts:
Blobby10 · 17/10/2019 11:27

@YogaDrone thank you for putting me straight! I did read everything twice but still got it wrong somehow - thankfully!

agnell84 good luck in your new home Grin

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