Baroness of Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will take into account the difficulty of obtaining planning permission for the conversion of uninhabitable farm properties before making the owners of those properties liable for council tax. [HL2212]
§ Lord WhittyNon-domestic agricultural buildings are exempt from non-domestic rates and council tax does not apply. Also, if a domestic property is derelict it will not constitute a dwelling for the purpose of the council tax.
Where an unoccupied dwelling is entered on the council tax valuation list but requires or is undergoing major repair works or is undergoing structural alteration, it can benefit from up to a year's exemption. We believe this is a reasonable period of exemption, after which the dwelling is subject to 50 per cent council tax whilst it remains unoccupied.
Government guidance in PPG 7—The Countryside—encourages the re-use of rural buildings and should be taken into account by local planning authorities in preparing development plans and in individual development control decisions. In preparing the Rural White Paper we are considering whether that guidance might be strengthened or clarified, consistent with the principles of sustainable development.