Have to love the Council...

E-Man · 23-11-09, 18:21

We have been getting letters addressed to:

The Mobile Home
And then our address.

We thought this quite funny at the time, as we have a 2 birth caravan we are sleeping in while we are doing the renovations.
We have just received new council tax details for the property, and it has come in 2 parts.

Part one is for the house, which is £1400 minus £420 for long term empty.

Part two is for what they call 'Mobil Home' which is another £950!!!

Any idea where we might stand for having a caravan (not a mobile home!!) in the garden?
Will be calling them tomorrow and discussing this with them.
The house still has the full bathroom in it, and we just use the caravan to sleep in while we are not working or doing work on the house.

Spliffyaid · 23-11-09, 19:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by E-Man

Part two is for what they call 'Mobil Home' which is another £950!!!

You digging for oil?

EddieJ · 23-11-09, 19:13

If the council have already accepted the use etc for the caravan and are expecting you to pay rates on it accordingly, it sounds like your next step is to get permitted development rights/ certificate of lawful use status and build on it!

E-Man · 23-11-09, 19:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spliffyaid

You digging for oil?

I thought i had edited that!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by EddieJ

If the council have already accepted the use etc for the caravan and are expecting you to pay rates on it accordingly, it sounds like your next step is to get permitted development rights/ certificate of lawful use status and build on it!

I like your style!! (and your bikes and your woodwork and and and

!!!)
It could well be something i look into in the future, as i have plans to buy the lump of land behind the Games Room, which is about the size of our plot.

Just seems a joke that i have to pay for a caravan, AND the house!!

Zanx · 23-11-09, 19:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by EddieJ

If the council have already accepted the use etc for the caravan and are expecting you to pay rates on it accordingly, it sounds like your next step is to get permitted development rights/ certificate of lawful use status and build on it!

Stunning.

I hope you never turn to evil

E-Man · 23-11-09, 19:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanx

Stunning.

I hope you never turn to evil

Well he already has the Dungeon!!!!

go_slow · 24-11-09, 11:23

If you are using the caravan for residential purposes then you have to pay council tax on it. The caravan has to be unoccupied for a certain amount of time during the year to be not classed as a residence. I dont know the exact time for this because where my friend has his caravan the place shuts down for 1 month a year, no one is allowed on site. For me its worked on the time in the caravan, by adding up the time I am not there this gets us outside the requirement. I also need to move the caravan from time to time but that may be because of the way mine is calculated i.e. since its not unoccupied for a set period of time it needs to be mobile not static.

<edit>Council guidelines - http://www.voa.gov.uk/instructions/c...n_pn/Frame.htm

Quote:

- 6.1 The policy that the legislation is intended to achieve can be summarised as follows. Although this specifically refers to boats and moorings the same principles apply to caravans and their pitches.
  a) If a boat which is someone’s sole or main residence is moored “permanently” at a mooring, then the mooring is domestic property, and both the mooring and the boat are subject to Council Tax.
  b) If a boat which is someone’s sole or main residence stops at a mooring and moves away for a sufficiently long period (see 6.2), and it seems that when next in use that mooring will be used by that same boat or another boat which is someone’s sole or main residence, then the mooring is domestic but the mooring only is subject to Council Tax.
  c) If a boat which is someone’s sole or main residence is moored at a mooring and moves away, and it seems that when next in use the mooring will be used by a non-sole or main residence boat, then the mooring is non-domestic and subject to non-domestic rates.
  d) If there is a mooring with no way of telling what sort of craft will be moored at it, then it is non-domestic and subject to non-domestic rates.
  6.2 Whether the value of the boat or caravan can be included with the pitch is a matter of fact and degree. As a general rule, where a dwelling boat or caravan occupies a mooring or pitch for a substantial period of time - such duration would usually be for 12 months or more - it should be included in the band value, even if it moves away for brief periods of say 2 to 4 weeks, provided it then returns to its original mooring or pitch. The question to be asked is whether the occupation can be characterised as that of a 'settler' or a 'wayfarer'. If the latter, then only the mooring or pitch should be valued.
  To be clear, this paragraph refers only to the treatment of the chattel value, not to establish whether a dwelling exists – that is the established mooring or pitch. A caravan does not have to be in place on a recognised pitch for 12 months to establish the pitch as a dwelling, nor does a boat have to be moored on a recognised mooring for 12 months to establish the mooring as a dwelling.
  6.3 Even if the sole or main resident of a caravan or boat does not have exclusive rights to a particular pitch or mooring if, in practice, the caravan or boat occupies the land with sufficient permanence it will be included with the mooring as domestic property, and the value included in the Council Tax banding.

Since you are sleeping in there it counts as a residence. Best option I can think of is to tell the council you only sleep in the caravan on a short term basis i.e. for few weeks out of a few months at a time while you do major works in the house, the rest of the time you are in the house. Buy some camp beds, chuck them somewhere in the house so it demonstrates that there is somewhere else in the house you sleep.

CoolHands · 24-11-09, 13:08

ask when the last time the gypoes paid their council tax

</puts away spoon>

E-Man · 24-11-09, 15:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolHands

ask when the last time the gypoes paid their council tax

Do you loike Dags?

Just called the Council, and they have said that if the house is having major work, and is unhabitable then we DO NOT have to pay council tax on the house, for a Max of 12 months!!

Other wise it means a 50% reduction for the house tax, as long term empty and then the tax for the caravan.

They are coming out tomorrow to look through the windows (as i am out) to make sure we are not lying! They will see no walls and ceiling, so i think that should justify that one!!

23-11-09, 18:21	#1
E-Man Not Much To Do Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 937 Casino cash: £1468050 Thanks: 53 Thanked: 37/33	Have to love the Council... We have been getting letters addressed to: The Mobile Home And then our address. We thought this quite funny at the time, as we have a 2 birth caravan we are sleeping in while we are doing the renovations. We have just received new council tax details for the property, and it has come in 2 parts. Part one is for the house, which is £1400 minus £420 for long term empty. Part two is for what they call 'Mobil Home' which is another £950!!! Any idea where we might stand for having a caravan (not a mobile home!!) in the garden? Will be calling them tomorrow and discussing this with them. The house still has the full bathroom in it, and we just use the caravan to sleep in while we are not working or doing work on the house.

23-11-09, 19:13	#3
EddieJ I am who I am Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: East Sussex Posts: 2,671 Casino cash: £1006800 Blog Entries: 4 Thanks: 158 Thanked: 119/97	Re: Have to love the Council... If the council have already accepted the use etc for the caravan and are expecting you to pay rates on it accordingly, it sounds like your next step is to get permitted development rights/ certificate of lawful use status and build on it!
	Take pleasure from leisure. Think it do it!

24-11-09, 13:08	#8
CoolHands travelling Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Londondidiumdidiumdium Posts: 3,810 Casino cash: £1186800 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 93 Thanked: 83/74	Re: Have to love the Council... ask when the last time the gypoes paid their council tax </puts away spoon>

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Have to love the Council...

We have been getting letters addressed to: The Mobile Home And then our address. We thought this quite funny at the time, as we have ...

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The following user says thank you to EddieJ for this useful post:
E-Man (23-11-09)