Avoiding rates on new house- NI

Started by giveherlong, April 09, 2018, 11:29:45 PM

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David McKeown

Quote from: Minder on April 10, 2018, 01:28:57 PM
Quote from: David McKeown on April 10, 2018, 12:06:35 PM
They sent me a letter in my last house as soon as I moved in in 2007 saying my apartment was rate exempt and they would get back to me when the exemption ended. Long story short the letter was issued in error and they came looking ten years of rates but we settled on 5 as they accepted it was their error and the letter should have gone to the builder.

I didn't think they could go back that far David

Yeah they would have been limited to 6 years. We settled on 3 not 5
2022 Allianz League Prediction Competition Winner

outinfront

What about Ground Rent? Is it essential to pay that?

TabClear

Quote from: balladmaker on April 10, 2018, 12:36:00 PM
Rates has to be one of the most corrupt taxes in the north i.e. based on value of house, not on what you actually receive for it.  The higher the house value, the higher the rates, with a ceiling of 5k.  Because a house has a higher value doesnt mean you have more cash in the bank to pay for the extra rates.  All houses get the same services, same bin collection, street lighting (in some cases there's none), same leisure centre facilities etc etc.  And it's the direct reason why a couple I know, both now 80, have decided to sell up, can no longer afford the yearly rates of £1800.  None of the political parties are going to want the system changed either.

Agree with all this. An absolute joke of a tax.

yellowcard

The rates fee charged relative to the service provided has become scandalous. I would like them to state exactly where the money is being spent and what the justification is for charging the amounts that they do. If it's simply to get a bin collected every week then it's entirely disproportionate but people seem to just accept it for what it is.

You can request a rates review and somebody will come out and issue a new assessment but the chances of any sort of material reduction is slim. It is a grossly inflated levy for receiving very little in terms of service. 

johnnycool

Quote from: TabClear on April 10, 2018, 02:41:02 PM
Quote from: balladmaker on April 10, 2018, 12:36:00 PM
Rates has to be one of the most corrupt taxes in the north i.e. based on value of house, not on what you actually receive for it.  The higher the house value, the higher the rates, with a ceiling of 5k.  Because a house has a higher value doesnt mean you have more cash in the bank to pay for the extra rates.  All houses get the same services, same bin collection, street lighting (in some cases there's none), same leisure centre facilities etc etc.  And it's the direct reason why a couple I know, both now 80, have decided to sell up, can no longer afford the yearly rates of £1800.  None of the political parties are going to want the system changed either.

Agree with all this. An absolute joke of a tax.

It's like road tax, just another tax that goes into the big pot that Amazon, Google and the big Tory party donors don't pay.

Milltown Row2

Quote from: yellowcard on April 10, 2018, 02:42:30 PM
The rates fee charged relative to the service provided has become scandalous. I would like them to state exactly where the money is being spent and what the justification is for charging the amounts that they do. If it's simply to get a bin collected every week then it's entirely disproportionate but people seem to just accept it for what it is.

You can request a rates review and somebody will come out and issue a new assessment but the chances of any sort of material reduction is slim. It is a grossly inflated levy for receiving very little in terms of service.

If you did your own recycling, and dumped your own bin every week, would you get a reduction?
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Ea

BennyCake

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on April 10, 2018, 02:52:06 PM
Quote from: yellowcard on April 10, 2018, 02:42:30 PM
The rates fee charged relative to the service provided has become scandalous. I would like them to state exactly where the money is being spent and what the justification is for charging the amounts that they do. If it's simply to get a bin collected every week then it's entirely disproportionate but people seem to just accept it for what it is.

You can request a rates review and somebody will come out and issue a new assessment but the chances of any sort of material reduction is slim. It is a grossly inflated levy for receiving very little in terms of service.

If you did your own recycling, and dumped your own bin every week, would you get a reduction?

Yes, wondered that myself. Unlikely.

They say it's for streetlights and footpaths too. Many people live in rural areas, and have neither. A fcukin joke.

brokencrossbar1

Quote from: outinfront on April 10, 2018, 02:17:11 PM
What about Ground Rent? Is it essential to pay that?

Yes but you can buy the ground rent out and get a freehold for the property. I thinks it's 9 times the annual ground rent and then you never pay it again

yellowcard

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on April 10, 2018, 02:52:06 PM
Quote from: yellowcard on April 10, 2018, 02:42:30 PM
The rates fee charged relative to the service provided has become scandalous. I would like them to state exactly where the money is being spent and what the justification is for charging the amounts that they do. If it's simply to get a bin collected every week then it's entirely disproportionate but people seem to just accept it for what it is.

You can request a rates review and somebody will come out and issue a new assessment but the chances of any sort of material reduction is slim. It is a grossly inflated levy for receiving very little in terms of service.

If you did your own recycling, and dumped your own bin every week, would you get a reduction?

I wouldn't think so. That would be like saying that I want a rates reduction because I don't use any of the leisure centre facilities (even though they charge you each time you use them anyway).

Minder

Think Belfast City Council give you a breakdown on your rates bill on what it is used for, probably all make believe bollocks
"When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us"

Milltown Row2

Quote from: Minder on April 10, 2018, 03:31:04 PM
Think Belfast City Council give you a breakdown on your rates bill on what it is used for, probably all make believe bollocks

Well it was value for money back in the day, with the pavements that needed replacing every summer, the street lamps were used as target practice or wrecked by the Saracen's, the leisure centres were a great place to get washed as the water works were usually were bombed and street mains vandalised by the locals, the bin men actually had to lift your bin, through the scullery, past the living room and out the front door! Ah the world was a lot simpler then. 
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Ea

bennydorano

#26
Would we be better off under a Council Tax system? Wasn't the Poll Tax the replacement for whatever the GB version of Rates looked like. It's a potential hot spud.

Dougal Maguire

My bill has arrived £1513.67. But low and behold I've got a reduction. It's a District Rate Subsidy. Happy days. My net bill is now £1513.04 as a result of this hefty sixty three pence reduction. I'm off to celebrate
Careful now

BennyCake

How can those bastids justify sending you a bill for £1,500? That is fcukin mental.

balladmaker

2760 ... but not so bad, can pay near 300 per month for 10 months!!! WTF ... it's a mortgage in itself