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Council Tax Exempt Dwelling - Class A

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  • Council Tax Exempt Dwelling - Class A

    Hi There,

    I'm new here and I hope that someone can help me?

    During August last year, I applied to my local council for permission to have some alterations made to my house with the aim of making some substantial improvements to my kitchen. The process was straightforward enough, I simply completed a Building Notice form and sent it to the Council, who approved it.

    The building work started shortly afterwards, but it quickly became apparent that far more work was required than I had originally proposed when I made the application to the Council. The local buildings surveyor became actively involved and from this point onwards he more or less directed the way in which the project was to proceed, primarily to meet the requirements set out in the building regulations. To put this in perspective, I live in an old semi detached Victorian house which as things turned out needed some substantial repairs made to it and that my original plans had not foreseen. Among other things, this meant that the back addition to had to be partially rebuilt, the original flooring replaced and the main services had to be re-instated. An old lean-to structure also had to be demolished and a replacement (extension to the kitchen) had to be built.

    The upshot of all this was I have not a kitchen in my house fro nearly a year, from August 2011 until June 2012, when the building work was substantially complete and my new kitchen was finally installed.

    I have read elsewhere that a 'dwelling requiring or undergoing major repairs or structural alteration to render it habitable may be entitled to exemption from council tax', and this is ruling can be goes under the classification of 'Exempt Dwellings Class A'.

    My understanding is that Exemption Class A can only be granted on a property for a maximum period of 12 months from the date on which the exemption first applies. And, the property must be: -

    a) Unfurnished and unoccupied, and

    b) It needs major repair work to make it fit to live in, or

    c) It is having structural alterations

    Put simply, I believe that I should be exempt from paying council tax on my property because of all structural alterations that were made to it between August 2011 and June 2012. This work was done at the request of the local District Building Control Surveyor

    I now need some advice about how to go about claiming a rebate on my council tax and whether or not there are any restrictions or limitations that may apply to my ability to do so. For example, is the backdating of these exemptions time limited in any way?

    I'm sorry for making such long and rambling post on my first visit to these boards, and I hope this background information is helpful in making an assessment of the merits of my case.
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Council Tax Exempt Dwelling - Class A

    The best people to advise you on this is the local authority involved. If you don't get any joy from them, email the Department for Communities and Local Government at contactus@communities.gov.uk and insert COUNCIL TAX QUERY in the subject box. This will ensure it goes to the correct team at Eland House.

    Their postal address is -

    Department for Communities and Local Government
    Eland House
    Bressenden Place
    London
    SW1E 5DU
    Life is a journey on which we all travel, sometimes together, but never alone.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Council Tax Exempt Dwelling - Class A

      Thanks for helping me with this Bluebottle.

      I have to say that I don't have a lot of confidence or trust in my local council, but that's just the way it goes I guess.....

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      • #4
        Re: Council Tax Exempt Dwelling - Class A

        of course you dont i believe lying to the public is policy.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Council Tax Exempt Dwelling - Class A

          That's an interesting observation Scottie. Maybe the real issue is that the rules and regulations are so convoluted and complicated that no one understands them and the best you can hope for is that you get the officers' best advice and the benefit of their years of experience in the arena?

          Which boils to them parroting from the rule book most of the time. It also means that the trump the local councillors attempts to make or hold them accountable for their actions or the lack of them??

          Comment

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