Properties that are not used as a persons sole/main residence and are available as a short-term holiday let for more than 20 weeks in a calendar year are rated as commercial by the Valuation Office Agency (Part of HMRC). This means that any property used on this basis is rated for non-domestic rates as opposed to council tax.
Where a property is available as a short-term let for less than 20 weeks in a calendar year, its predominant use is not considered to be commercial and would be rated for council tax purposes.
If you have recently purchased a property that is rated for council tax and believe that it should be assessed for non-domestic rates, then a referral would need to be made to the Valuation Office Agency in order to carry out a reassessment. Provided all the necessary information is supplied, we can submit the necessary request to the Valuation Office Agency for them to remove a property from the council tax banding list and place it into the non-domestic rates valuation list.
Request a holiday let be valued for non-domestic rates >
Please be advised that any referral made to the Valuation Office Agency can take between 6 to 16 weeks for them to carry out a reassessment. If you have been billed for council tax on the property in question, then legislation mandates that the amount billed for remains due and payable whilst any referral is pending. In the event the Valuation Office Agency reassesses your property, any overpayment of council tax will either be refunded or offset against any newly raised non-domestic rates liability. It is also important that you are aware that any property that is reassessed from council tax to non-domestic rates will no longer be entitled to domestic refuse collection.