RESIDENTIAL LANDLORDS ASSOCIATION
COUNCIL TAX FOR BEDSITS

Background

This note explains where Council Tax is payable in respect of individual bedsits. For Council Tax purposes the chargeable unit is a “dwelling”. A dwelling carries a banding depending in its value, between Band A, the lowest, and Band H, the highest. Normally, the banded unit on which Council Tax is payable would be the particular house, semi detached house, terrace, bungalow etc concerned. Normally, one would expect this unit to be a self contained unit. A bedsit may simply be a room which is separately rented out but with shared use of facilities such as kitchen, bathroom or toilet. Alternatively, it may have some or all of these facilities en suite. On the other hand when one encounters a flat this will be self contained and will have its own banding because it is a separate chargeable unit for Council Tax purposes. Usually bedsit accommodation lies somewhere in between a self contained flat on the one hand and a shared house of the kind occupied by students, young people etc as a group on the other. Perhaps one would not normally expect a bedsit to be banded. However, what are called the disaggregation regulations may apply so that in many cases the Valuation Office would be entitled to assign a separate banding to an individual bedsit. This is not always done in practice.

The purpose of this note is to explain the state of current case law which sets out the circumstances in which an individual bedsit can have its own banding.

This is about the unit on which Council Tax is levied; not about who is liable to pay the Council Tax. There are separate regulations regarding this aspect which are not dealt with in this note.

Disaggregation rules should be applied in appropriate circumstances and there is no discretion about this. On the other hand in some circumstances the Valuation Office can in its discretion can treat what would otherwise be two separate banded units as one.

Guidance Notes

Attached are two separate Guidance Notes issued by the Valuation Office which set out their views of the disaggregation regulations, as well as the discretionary aggregation regulations allowing different units to be treated as one. These Guidance Notes also address issues regarding granny flats.

Click Here (The Council Tax Chargeable Dwellings Order 1992)
Click Here (Decision of the West Yorkshire Valuation Tribunal)

Relevant Case Law

Set out below is a summary of the relevant case law concerning bedsit accommodation. In most cases there is a link through to the relevant case report so that you can see it in detail.

John Laing -v- Kingwood
Definition of a hereditament (i.e. the basic unit for Council Tax purposes).

It must have the following factors:-

(1) Actual occupation
(2) Exclusive occupation
(3) Possession must be of value
(4) Not transient

James V Williams

Four units, each unit had a living room, kitchen (one of the units instead had a kitchen/living room) and bedroom. All units shared a combined bathroom/wc and a separate wc compartment. However, one did have its own wc as well. It was assessed as four separate units.

Neale ex parte Moore – Court of Appeal

Consideration of status of a bed sitting room and kitchen of which the tenant had the sole use. Shared use of bathroom and wc by 13 tenants. Separate banding upheld.

Beaseley -v- National Council of YMCAs – High Court

Purpose built block. Each unit comprised a bed sitting room with a kitchenette area and an en suite shower room. The kitchenette was equipped with a sink, cooker and a fridge. The shower room had a shower, wash hand basin and a wc. There were also some common facilities for use by residents, namely a meeting room, laundry, disabled lavatory, bicycle store and refuse store. Each unit was separately banded.

McColl – High Court

A flat behind its own lockable door with two bedrooms, a kitchen/living room and a bathroom/wc. Access to the flat was obtained only by passing through the hall, stairs and landing of the main house in which the flat was situated. The flat was separately banded.

Clement –v- Brian – High Court

Bedsit units with a wc and a wash hand basis in a separate cloakroom. Bedsitting area with a fully equipped kitchen in a separate room. No shower or bath. There were communal bathing facilities. The absence of a bath or shower did not take the property (which was otherwise self contained) outside the definition of self contained so the unit was separately banded.

Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust -v- Speight – High Court

14 flats in a care home originally constructed for self contained units. However, following the removal of the cookers and the fridges from the kitchens as a safety precaution for the residents, the Trust argued that the flats were no longer self contained. The electricity supply to the kitchens had also been capped. There was a degree of communal living. The High Court decided that the 14 flats remained self contained.

Williams -v- RNIB

The units were self contained living accommodation. The High Court said that the Valuation Tribunal was wrong to take into account the fact that the owner did not intend to use the accommodation for independent living. Separate bandings were directed for each of the units in question.

For more information regarding the RLA council tax for bedsits Click Here

Supporting documents

• The Council Tax Chargeable Dwellings Order 1992
• Decision of the West Yorkshire Valuation Tribunal
• RPI Article