Council Tax and HMO's. We HAVE to Advise Our Investors

‘There is no conformity at all‘ In this episode, David shares the current situation nationwide concerning banding for council tax of HMO’s. The legislation allows for the ‘discretion of the assessing officer’ and there is now a  lack of conformity across authorities. If you are a deal packager or deal sourcer this podcast has vital information that you need to know about, Listen in now    KEY TAKEAWAYS The VOA(valuation office) for council tax is looking at HMOs and in certain circumstances taking an HMO that was previously banded for council tax as a single property with one landlord and banding the rooms individually. This results in a separate council tax bill for each room. Currently, there is not continuity across councils, no national uniformity about how HMOs will be banded for council tax purposes. In some local authorities just having a lock on a room can mean the room can be banded individually for council tax. The legislation talks about properties which have had fundamental changes made. This allows the discretion of the assessing officer to band the rooms. If the property is converted into individual letting units, self-contained with kitchenettes and en-suites the rooms may be banded independently for tax. As a deal packager, you must make sure the investor understands the threat that at some time in the future rooms in an HMO could be banded individually for council tax.   BEST MOMENTS ‘I don’t want to sell a deal based on council tax for the building and then suddenly the investor finds the VOA re-evaluating each room individually for council tax’ ‘If you have a 2 or 3 storey property with a kitchen on each floor you may be banded independently for each room or you may not be’   VALUABLE RESOURCES  Property Sourcing Profits Podcast https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/ https://unlimited-success.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/progressivepropertycommunity/   ABOUT THE HOST David is a property expert with over 25 years’ experience and his own portfolio of 26 units. His current rent roll is in excess of £10k per month. He is also a partner in a Deal Sourcing and Packaging business in the North West of England and has sourced over 250 properties for investors since 2004. In recent years he has, by necessity, had to develop an expertise in LHA strategies. This area is increasingly becoming a niche for him, and he enjoys empowering other landlords by sharing the knowledge he has gained. The ultimate purpose when sourcing properties in this sector for investors is to minimise risk while maximising profit. He has had to find answers to the challenges of Tenant Find, Management, ensuring rents are paid and the transition to Universal Credit. These are strategies he uses in his own business and also on behalf of investors. His investor clients regularly achieve annual gross yields of over 20% with high occupancy rates and voids resolved, sometimes within hours.   CONTACT METHOD https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-siegler-7b126316/ https://www.facebook.com/DavidSieglerInvestments/