Rates in Northern Ireland

A question about : Rates in Northern Ireland

Hi guys.

I am wondering if anyone would have any experience of a situation I find myself in.

We moved house in June 2013, a few months after that we had a guy call at the house asking about paying rates, i told him we had just recently moved in, he asked for the old house address and updated a handheld device with our current details. Anyway, we never heard anything since and now we have received a lovely bill in for Ј2000 in backdated rates.

Its a new development we live in and I have heard that you don't start paying rates until it is completed, or roads have been finished and street lighting is working - something along those lines. Ive searched for information on this and cant find it.

The development was completed a few months back, with the roads being finished around summer time.

Has anyone used this before regarding rates or is it all all just hearsay.

Thanks

James

Best answers:

• The way I see it is the onus is on the house owner to contact the rates department as soon as they move in. I did this in 1996 when I moved into a new development which was also unfinished and paid rates from the day of occupation. I don't think you get exemption on rates when a development is unfinished as you still have working services to you home.
  I cancelled by phone when I moved out and made sure I was paid up to date and supplied them with the names of the buyers.
  When moving into my new home I again contacted the rates dept. to inform them and get the bill at the correct time.
  Probably not the news you want to hear, but we all have to pay rates as it is another tax basically. You could try phoning them to discuss instalment payments as less of a burden.
  Good Luck.
• I moved into a new development in May this year and my rates were calculated from that date. The development was still under construction.
  It took about 6 months before I actually got a bill but I knew one would come eventually so I had put cash away for it.
  I had come from UK mainland and was used to paying council tax + water charges so was pleased that the costs over here were quite a bit less!
• The same thing happened to me except it took them 3 years to value the property and another 9 months to send out a bill which was the wrong side of Ј4k. This was despite numerous phone calls requesting a valuation & offers to pay on account which you cant do because you dont have a ratepayer ID or account number. After about 2 years I was advised that they were short of valuers and my house was on a valuation waiting list and would eventually be rated, again I offered to start paying and was told to put the money in an account for the day the bill arrived. Well the bill did arrive with all sorts of court action if I didnt pay within 28 days etc. I contacted the payments dept told them i couldnt pay and this was their fault for the poor service and that despite attempts to contact them & pay they ignored. The outcome is they agreed to me paying them an extra Ј35 per month to clear the debt. Yes it will take more than 10 years but it wasnt my fault.
• Do you simply write a letter to the Land & Property Services to inform them that you have bought a house on a certain date and want to register to pay domestic rates from that date?
  Or do you have to fill in particular form? I couldn't find such a form on the Land & Property Services website.
  Thanks!
• Rates are paid from the day you move in. In a new build they will need to come and value the house before you get issued with a bill. No Road / streetlights doesnt make a difference.
  I moved into my new house on 28th March 13 and I contacted the rates office, it took a while but they sent someone out to value the house and I got a rates bill back dated to 1st April 13 in July 2013. I had been putting money away each month to pay it so it wasnt a big issue but its definitely up to you to contact LPS.
  They have no way of knowing when you completed your house purchase.
• Thanks for the replies. Spoke with LPS today and have agreed to pay extra on top of our current rates until the balance is cleared. You live, you learn!
• Northern Ireland rates are issued in April, when do these have to be paid in order to be eligible for the discount? I believe that for Landlords it's September??
• Cotta, I think you only get about a month to qualify for the 4% discount for early payments. Landlord discounts work differently.
  There is a link on the bottom of the online valuation for every property, which you can click to request a revaluation or submit a change in property details. You can then leave your contact details and LPS will contact you. The capital valuation list is available here: https://lpsni.gov.uk/vListDCV/search.asp?submit=form
• Yep, payment due first few days in May for discount