Alastair Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Does anyone have any experience of this, maybe from the Sheffield floods of 2007? My house was flooded by a burst pipe in the attic just before Christmas and we are now in a rented house until our own home is repaired. It's uninhabitable as there's no kitchen or bathroom and the whole back of the house is a building site. The council are being awkward about Council Tax and have classified our own house as a second home allowing only 10% relief on Council Tax. They claim it has to be unfurnished to allow 100% relief and we have left the front of the house furnished and as a store for what furniture we have salvaged. This seems crazy as we're paying council tax on the rented house too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Can't your insurance company help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitehorses Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Get to your nearest citizen's advice bureau. If you can prove your flooded house is only a store , and that you are paying on your rented house, you should not have to pay twice.If the council won't budge, book a thirty minute free appointment with a solicitor to advise you on your legal position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlet83 Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Sorry they are right... to a point. I worked for BMBC at the time of the 07 floods, we in the end appealed to Central Government for a relax on the rules. The council are not being awkward, they do not make there own rules with this. It is incredibly unfair but they are only following the rules given. During the floods we had people whos insurance company rented them a larger house than the one they owned and in a higher council tax band, If they still had furniture in the old house we were not allowed to give them a full exemption, some people faced paying £300/400 pm CT because they had been moved into a higher CT band. You need to get as much of the furniture out as possible. What is in there? If you can give me a list I can tell you what to get out (this is what make the difference) I know it is really unfair, you will find that most Council Tax staff do not agree with these rules. You can be made to pay twice even if you are paying full on another property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyofborg Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 i would have thought your insurance would have covered much of this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hard2miss Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Does anyone have any experience of this, maybe from the Sheffield floods of 2007? My house was flooded by a burst pipe in the attic just before Christmas and we are now in a rented house until our own home is repaired. It's uninhabitable as there's no kitchen or bathroom and the whole back of the house is a building site. The council are being awkward about Council Tax and have classified our own house as a second home allowing only 10% relief on Council Tax. They claim it has to be unfurnished to allow 100% relief and we have left the front of the house furnished and as a store for what furniture we have salvaged. This seems crazy as we're paying council tax on the rented house too. If its only used for storage then surely it cannot be classified as a home. if furniture is stacked and not fit for its intended use then I would argue that its no more than a shed is until the repairs are done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastair Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 i would have thought your insurance would have covered much of this The insurance are being very good and have paid for most of our expenses, but I haven't asked them about the Council Tax. I don't see why either I or the insurance company should pay twice for the services I receive from Sheffield City Council. I pay Council Tax on my current rented property and I don't see why I need to pay twice, it's not like I'm getting extra services from SCC. Our holiday house in the Cotswolds was flooded in the 2007 floods and there was no quibble from Cotswold District Council whilst that was being repaired. We got 100% council tax relief even though it wasn't our main residence and the upstairs was used for furniture storage, so it wasn't entirely unfurnshed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrobbo Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Does anyone have any experience of this, maybe from the Sheffield floods of 2007? My house was flooded by a burst pipe in the attic just before Christmas and we are now in a rented house until our own home is repaired. It's uninhabitable as there's no kitchen or bathroom and the whole back of the house is a building site. The council are being awkward about Council Tax and have classified our own house as a second home allowing only 10% relief on Council Tax. They claim it has to be unfurnished to allow 100% relief and we have left the front of the house furnished and as a store for what furniture we have salvaged. This seems crazy as we're paying council tax on the rented house too. My bold. Flooding caused by a burst pipe in the attic should surely be covered by your insurance policy (as other posters have pointed out). If you have to pay a second council tax on your temporary home, I suggest you check your insurance policy to see if that is covered by incidental expenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlet83 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 The insurance are being very good and have paid for most of our expenses, but I haven't asked them about the Council Tax. I don't see why either I or the insurance company should pay twice for the services I receive from Sheffield City Council. I pay Council Tax on my current rented property and I don't see why I need to pay twice, it's not like I'm getting extra services from SCC. Our holiday house in the Cotswolds was flooded in the 2007 floods and there was no quibble from Cotswold District Council whilst that was being repaired. We got 100% council tax relief even though it wasn't our main residence and the upstairs was used for furniture storage, so it wasn't entirely unfurnshed. Well I did ask you to get in touch as I can help. But my post has been ignored, it appears you just want to moan rather than find a solution to the problem... and there is one. Sheffield are not being funny its called legislation which can differ in different areas. Yes it is unfair but yes you can get round it. Your insurance should be covering any council tax anyway if you check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastair Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 My bold. Flooding caused by a burst pipe in the attic should surely be covered by your insurance policy (as other posters have pointed out). If you have to pay a second council tax on your temporary home, I suggest you check your insurance policy to see if that is covered by incidental expenses. Yes, the repairs to flood damage and everything else is covered by insurance. I'll ask if I am covered for the extra council tax in the house the insurance have rented us, but it rankles a bit that SCC want paying twice (whoever stumps the bill). It's not like we are getting twice the council services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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