Single Occupancy & Council Tax in the UK (Specifically England)

[Alex12893]

Hi,

I recently completed a purchase a small property on the Kent coast. This is my only owned property and will be listed as my primary residence with the local authority. I plan to live there 50% of the time with my daughter and with my partner in her property which is in another county the other 50% of the time. I will pay her some rent and contribute to bills etc. I have listed myself for single occupancy discount in my property as my daughter is under 18 and only her and myself will be living there.

I plan to airbnb my property while I am not there to help cover some of the running costs. I am not yet aware of the occupancy I will achieve but I wanted to know what the rules are around council tax in this situation. Should I be Ok to still claim the single occupancy discount when I have guests using the property and how do I make sure I am following the rules regarding council TAX for when I am not there. Does anyone have a similar situation or experience?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Alex12893 I would ask your council in writing. I doubt very much if you can benefit from the single person discount if renting on Airbnb.

[Rebecca]

Hi @Alex12893, 

Welcome to the community, and congratulations on your new property!

Did you find out more since your post here, or perhaps followed @Mike-And-Jane0's suggestion? 

It would be great to hear what happens, as it might helps other hosts in the same situation in the future. 😊 

[Alex12893]

Hi Rebecca,

Thanks for the message and the welcome.

I will ofc update the thread when I have more info. I have decided that as the property is not yet ready to airbnb that I will wait to ask the council then so as not to bring myself too much attention. As it stands I think it will be ready post Christmas fingers crossed.    

[Shana166]

HI Alex,

So I am in the same situation, and basically, you can use single occupancy if you are the only person using the property as  "main residence". So Guests travelling or coming there for a month or so should not affect you as its not their MAIN residence. Only thing I am unsure is if they have a -longer term of let's say above 6 months .. if the rules change and can be considered main residence. That Is why I do short terms only booking to avoid anyone putting their "bills" on my address etc.

I hope this helps.

[Alex12893]

So I wanted to post and update and my findings. I believe this will be council specific to the area you live but the local council have said that I can declare this residence as my main residence if I am registered and have my Dr Surgery here as well as having my driving license registered here.

They expect that I live in this property more than 50% of the time (not 50/50) and have the lions share of my personal belongings in the property. They state they will visit to check this.

So that is what I have found out. It may well differ for others depending on their LOA.