joe90 Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 They tried to levy council tax on my caravan but I told them it was builders facilities and we were still paying council tax on our last house (wife still working in Bristol). Yes they pestered me about paying council tax when the house was nearing completion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 10 minutes ago, PeterW said: So they legally can’t do this - and there is case law to stop them. @Jeremy Harris can advise the exact bit, but it relates to a property not meeting the requirement of being a rateable hereditament if it has no potable water supply. This is a hot topic and is it possible application of the law has evolve since then? I think we slow paced self builders are collateral damage in an ongoing game between councils and big builders who have been slapped down over the disconnected mains water supply ploy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 35 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: This is a hot topic and is it possible application of the law has evolve since then? I think we slow paced self builders are collateral damage in an ongoing game between councils and big builders who have been slapped down over the disconnected mains water supply ploy. Neither the acts of parliament or the case law has been amended in the past 5 years so it is still valid as a defence unless you know otherwise ..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Our caravan was on site (with permission) some time before we moved into it. When I contacted the council to pay council tax on it, the assessor said "let me git my file out. Ah yes, I have a picture of your caravan and I see I have been to your site 17 times" So they were regularly snooping to see if we had moved into it. They don't seem so bothered now we have moved into the house. He came in January but decided the house was not sufficiently finished to be valued, so left it as us paying band A CT for the 'van. He said "see you in the summer" but I have not seen him, so I guess he came when we were out and had a look through the windows and decided it was still not finshed. Regarding keeping a caravan after the build. I have mentioned this before. We wanted to be able to keep the static 'van to use later as a work space, store room and studio. We chose one with an unusual layout that would suit that use better than most. When it came to the planning, I told the planners of our intention to keep it. Originally they said no. Then I pointed out on the day of completion, I could remove the caravan, and then immediately put an identical 'van in the identical position, and it would qualify as a permitted development garden outbuilding. They then changed the condition to "habitational use of the 'van will cease upon occupation of the house" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA3222 Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, epsilonGreedy said: I registered to pay and was rated as Band A. Not sure about workers accommodation, I assume there is some principal residence test. My local council keeps an eye on new builds and once the windows go in they will levy the full rate of the main house within 3 to 5 months. Are you ELDC Jonathan? I put a static on site without asking and when I submitted amendments to planning my architect asked the officer if needed to include it and the answer was 'nah'. I started on site and put services in, a big old driveway and dug out a shed load of soil where the house was sat and didn't send a commencement notice - one of the comments on my app by the officer is 'work has already commenced' so I take that as my PP locked in. I pay council tax at Band A - voluntarily applied for it, I could probably have got away with not paying but it's not much and I needed some bins?♂️ I haven't seen hide nor tail of anyone from the council - I expect that I could have a finished house and it will be me chasing them to let them know. All that being said, they have been pragmatic and a pleasure to deal with so far. From what i have seen though there are some real PITA's out there so it seems to be the luck of the draw! Edited December 10, 2019 by LA3222 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 1 hour ago, PeterW said: Neither the acts of parliament or the case law has been amended in the past 5 years so it is still valid as a defence unless you know otherwise ..? I don't doubt what you say however if council officials pursue a contrary policy then it takes much effort for the individual staring at a final demand to prove their policy is wrong. My recollection of previous BuildHub discussions on this subject is the case law relates to ruins and houses falling into a dilapidated state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 1 hour ago, epsilonGreedy said: I don't doubt what you say however if council officials pursue a contrary policy then it takes much effort for the individual staring at a final demand to prove their policy is wrong. My recollection of previous BuildHub discussions on this subject is the case law relates to ruins and houses falling into a dilapidated state. no - the case law is clear ... no potable water supply, no rateable hereditament... Final demand or not, they can ignore a letter but if you go to court and say “I sent this xyz, here is the statute reference and here is the case law” then they don’t have a leg to stand on as this is civil law ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 54 minutes ago, PeterW said: no - the case law is clear ... no potable water supply, no rateable hereditament... Final demand or not, they can ignore a letter but if you go to court and say “I sent this xyz, here is the statute reference and here is the case law” then they don’t have a leg to stand on as this is civil law ... I wish that was true, in practice things are different. This is the top item in my Google search which happened to be Northampton Borough Council. The policy in Northampton sounds similar my local council. https://www.northampton.gov.uk/info/200028/council-tax/1905/council-tax-new-properties-and-completion-notices Quote The completion notice is issued in accordance with Schedule 4A of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and Section 17 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. Quote In order to be considered and ready for banding, the following work does not need to have been carried out: Internal decoration of the property, including the fitting of internal doors Final fitting of bathroom and kitchen units Final fitting of electrical fixtures, plug points and switches Final connection of water, gas and electricity (although services should be laid on to the site) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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