Completion Dates

[Jilly]

Am I correct, there are 3 completion dates, one for Building Control, one for Planning and one for the Council to trigger Council tax? Which one triggers the VAT countdown? 

 

 

[nod]

The Counsul tax can kick in at anytime As some have found on here Including myself 

Your BC completion certificate is the one that starts your countdown for your vat claim 

We we’re living in our pretty much compete house for five months before we asked BC to do the sign off cert 

[ProDave]

And in Scotland there is also a Certificate of Temporary Habitation which you can get when the house is part built to allow you to legally occupy it. That can also be used for a VAT claim.

[Bored Shopper]

2 hours ago, nod said:

We we’re living in our pretty much compete house for five months before we asked BC to do the sign off cert 

 

Was this still under site insurance or regular home insurance?

[epsilonGreedy]

2 hours ago, nod said:

 

Your BC completion certificate is the one that starts your countdown for your vat claim 

 

 

This was the generally accepted wisdom until the much discussed case of the self builder who moved in and then spent ages flapping about with some heating design/sign off issue. Their VAT claim was rejected because in their case HMRC started the 3 month claim clock from the date of effective habitation.

 

Does anyone know how that saga ended?

[Bored Shopper]

Glad to have found this topic. We're in a bit of a pickle as our completion certificate is likely to be end of September, however we MUST move in by 15th as rent (and site insurance!) expires and have nowhere to live. House is pretty much habitable (we've got toilets installed this week!).  

If BC comes, say, next week, and we expect it may require a few bits and bobs finished before the certificate can be signed, can we still move in before it's all done? It's London, no Highlands...

Happy to start paying tax whenever, and VAT reclaim is almost ready for submission.

[epsilonGreedy]

1 minute ago, Bored Shopper said:

 

Happy to start paying tax whenever, and VAT reclaim is almost ready for submission.

 

 

I don't think HMRC would be motivated to reject a VAT reclaim submitted earlier than BC sign off. Their concern must be self builders stretching the rules the other way and accumulating VAT receipts for routine householder DIY projects post move-in or buying stuff for family & friends.

 

There is one English Council down south that operates a pre building control sign-off habilitation safety check a bit like the Scottish system other than that I'd say just move in when you can tolerate the state of partial completion. Are the smoke alarms working? 

[Bored Shopper]

6 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

Are the smoke alarms working? 

We'll find out on Monday when our bloody electrician is back from holiday!  Took 4x days off this week, words fail me ....

 

Also, can anyone please state in plain Engish which are the main key areas BC must sign off on ? Electricity certificate, plumbing certificate, what else? gas connection?

 

sorry for a silly question, but we're working 24/7 now to push it as fast as possible and I'm nearly brain dead... 

[epsilonGreedy]

10 minutes ago, Bored Shopper said:

 

Also, can anyone please state in plain Engish which are the main key areas BC must sign off on ? Electricity certificate, plumbing certificate, what else? gas connection?

 

 

How many BC stages have been signed off so far?

[Bored Shopper]

Three stages completed and signed off: (1) foundations (2) wall plate (3) wind and water tight. This last one was back in June when we started plasterboarding. BCO then said nex time he'd visit around completion time only, so I assume we only have one last (final) BC visit to pass. 

[Temp]

13 minutes ago, Bored Shopper said:

We'll find out on Monday when our bloody electrician is back from holiday!  Took 4x days off this week, words fail me ....

 

Also, can anyone please state in plain Engish which are the main key areas BC must sign off on ? Electricity certificate, plumbing certificate, what else? gas connection?

 

sorry for a silly question, but we're working 24/7 now to push it as fast as possible and I'm nearly brain dead... 

 

During our final site inspection our BCO checked ..

 

Every pane of window glass for a coating with some sort of meter.

Every pane of glass that should be safety glass for standards marks (etched in a corner).

Watched our builder pressure test the drains.

Checked opening windows for clear opening width.

Asked about ventilation for our wood burner.

 

[nod]

As previously stated We moved in Dec 7 and was signed off May 9 

We had been paying Counsul tax on a reduced rate for 9 months before we moved in 

Without Electric gas or water 

Then full tax for three months before moving in 

Gas and electric connected a month before moving in 

We held back mainly because we had 15 k to spend on drive materials 

We clearly stated our moving in date and it was never questioned 

Vat claim was paid in full 

 

we were more concerned at the length of time we had been forced to pay Counsul tax