More homes with granny flats eligible for council tax discount

Change in rules means bills are now reduced.

If you have an annex on your family home, often known as a 'granny flat', you could be entitled to a council tax discount.

More than £1.3 million has been knocked off bills nationwide since the charge was reduced last year.

Before this change two separate council tax bills were being levied on the same home if it had a ‘granny flat’ or similar extension.

Discounts of 50% were granted for properties where families were housing non-dependent relatives, in addition to existing exemptions given to families who were housing a dependent relative.

Nearly 17,000 households are now getting a discount or exemption.

According to government figures, Cornwall is the granny flat capital of England with 595 households receiving support.   

Here are the top 10 areas.

Notes:

Number of exempt annexes is the number of dwellings in Class T and W exemptions on the October 2014 Council Tax Base form

Class T applies to annexes which may not be let separately from the main property because of a planning restriction

Class W is the dependent relative exemption

Ministers believe that many more people are entitled to the reductions and they’re urging town halls to be more forthcoming with residents who are likely to benefit from the scheme.

If you think you might be entitled to this council tax cut, make sure you contact your local council. You should get back any council tax you have overpaid dating back to last year.

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