We have one holiday cottage on our farm running well, and we also have a residential cottage. We are thinking about turning it into a holiday cottage too but I can't get any sense out of my local council - talk about exasperating! Nobody can/will tell me the rateable value or what the business rates might be. Council pass to evaluations agency, they pass back to council.
Just like to know if anyone who has more than one holiday property can give me an idea of whether business rates are hugely different from council tax on holiday cottages. Obviously many people have several holiday properties so I would it is realistic business wise but any info or advice would be gratefully received.
Second properties
There is a some info out there, but I agree finding it is difficult! Try these for starters: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... NG_v06.pdf
https://www.gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates
The main difference with rates to Council Tax is that you have to pay for refuse collection. One property may be eligible for Small Business Rates Relief.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-r ... ate-relief
As for difference in costs, it really depends, some will lose, some will gain. The only thing to remember is that if you fit the criteria in terms of letting out a property, it's not really an option to choose between rates or Council Tax; it's dictated by whether you let it out for a set number of days, but I'm guessing you should know that if you already run one holiday cottage.
EASCO published some info about this too, so it's always worth joining that.
https://www.gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates
The main difference with rates to Council Tax is that you have to pay for refuse collection. One property may be eligible for Small Business Rates Relief.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-r ... ate-relief
As for difference in costs, it really depends, some will lose, some will gain. The only thing to remember is that if you fit the criteria in terms of letting out a property, it's not really an option to choose between rates or Council Tax; it's dictated by whether you let it out for a set number of days, but I'm guessing you should know that if you already run one holiday cottage.
EASCO published some info about this too, so it's always worth joining that.
Do you not pay business rates on your current holiday cottage? I found converting from council tax to business rates very straight forward. The VAO did everything for me - I only had to fill in a form which gave details of the property, how it is advertised plus current and projected bookings. The VAO then informed the local authority who calculated payments ( zero in my case due to small business rate rebate). Suggest you talk directly to your area office at the VAO, I found them very helpful and efficient. They kept me informed of progress by phone.
Your problem may be that 2 holiday lets rather than 1 may make you ineligible for small business rate rebate on both. I'm no expert here as I only have 1 holiday let. There has been previous discussion on this forum on this issue which you could search out
Your problem may be that 2 holiday lets rather than 1 may make you ineligible for small business rate rebate on both. I'm no expert here as I only have 1 holiday let. There has been previous discussion on this forum on this issue which you could search out
The best things in life are free
Re: Second properties
There can be a small plus for TV licences. I have one that covers our two lets plus us for the same price as a standard licence. There are conditions, like they must be on the same property without a road between them! It's called an hotel licence. I even got a rebate as I hadn't initially realised that it covered us as well!Inazuma wrote:We have one holiday cottage on our farm running well, and we also have a residential cottage. We are thinking about turning it into a holiday cottage too but I can't get any sense out of my local council - talk about exasperating! Nobody can/will tell me the rateable value or what the business rates might be. Council pass to evaluations agency, they pass back to council.
Just like to know if anyone who has more than one holiday property can give me an idea of whether business rates are hugely different from council tax on holiday cottages. Obviously many people have several holiday properties so I would it is realistic business wise but any info or advice would be gratefully received.
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan,
Interested to hear about the TV license. we have 2 properties that are the 2 sections of the same building. Both on the same piece of land, effectively the 2 semi parts of a building. They are registered separately by the land registry so we currently buy a TV license for each. Would be a nice saving if we could
Interested to hear about the TV license. we have 2 properties that are the 2 sections of the same building. Both on the same piece of land, effectively the 2 semi parts of a building. They are registered separately by the land registry so we currently buy a TV license for each. Would be a nice saving if we could
I first raised the topic of a hotel TV licence back in 2012. Clearly a thread that needs bumping every year perhaps for newcomers! http://www.laymyhat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16339
Our two lets are all part of the same old mill that we live in, so it sounds as thought you would qualify for an hotel licence. They gave me a rebate on past years without any quibbling.ianh100 wrote:Hi Jonathan,
Interested to hear about the TV license. we have 2 properties that are the 2 sections of the same building. Both on the same piece of land, effectively the 2 semi parts of a building. They are registered separately by the land registry so we currently buy a TV license for each. Would be a nice saving if we could
Jonathan