Once again there is another case of a council slapping a council tax charge on a landlord for a property being renovated. David Scothern of Skegness was extremely angry after being told to pay a council tax charge of £1,200 on his property that cannot be lived in.

 

Mr. Scothern bought two flats eighteen months ago, of which one has been fully renovated and currently he was about to start work on his second property. He is furious that the council has just sent him correspondence, telling him to pay the back dated council tax "owing" for the second property, that he was about to renovate..

 

Furthermore the council "kindly" informed that in future he would also have to pay an extra 50% more, because of how long the property had remained empty.

Despite contacting the council and informing them of the course of events he was bluntly told no matter what, he still had to pay.

The  housing standards officer for the council, has since sent a letter to Mr. Scothern agreeing that the flat cannot be occupied. The council has now issued a prohibition order on the property, which now means the landlord will not have to pay any future council tax until the flat becomes fit for purpose..

Mr. Scothern said that he had had every intention of fighting the bill through court action, however he had to review the true implications of proceeding.

He said: “As a professional landlord I thought to stand up for the people and argue the case, as it is clearly unfair and unjust. If I were to attend the court and lose I would be the proud owner of a CCJ (County Court Judgement).”

If a CCJ had been put into force then it would left him without any chance of ever getting a mortgage or loan at a reasonable rate, so he has had no other option than to pay the original £1,200 bill. He is in the process of building up funds to pay for the renovation work and said :: “I don’t think I’ll be investing again in the area.”

Portfolio holder for finance at East Lindsey District Council (responsible for Skegness)Councillor John Upsall said: “Legislation changed in 2013 allowing local authorities to set their own level of council tax discount for certain categories of empty property, but also to introduce a premium where a property has been empty for two or more years to encourage long-term empty homes to be bought back into use.

“There are a range of exemptions based on individual circumstances with every case being considered on its own merits. If any resident has a council tax query about a property they have recently bought we would encourage them to contact us at the earliest opportunity so that we can properly advise them.

“Our empty homes officer can also offer advice on bringing empty homes back into use including reclaiming some or all of the VAT back on building and renovation works in certain cases.”