Register new build and converted properties for Council Tax

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If your property is newly built, we will not be able to charge you Council Tax until the property is finished or the date we decide the property will be complete. This is the date on which the property becomes a dwelling for Council Tax purposes and is entered into the Valuation List.

When the property is structurally complete we will issue a Completion Notice. This includes where the work remaining can be expected to be complete within 3 months. Which will specify the completion date for the property. We will serve a Completion Notice on the owner of the property or the person entitled to possession of it.

Completion Notices

How the completion date is decided

To make sure that our Completion Notices are accurate, Council Officers regularly visit and review dwellings that are being built or altered. We may collect evidence such as photographs, to help us make our decision.

We consider a property to be substantially complete when it meets the following criteria:

  • Floors are laid (although the screed or top coat of concrete need not have been laid)
  • Services such as gas, water, and electricity are laid on to the site
  • The basic structure is complete – for example, all external walls and roof are in place
  • Internal walls are build (although not necessarily plastered)

The following work does not have to have been carried out for a property to be considered ready for Council Tax banding:

  • Internal decoration, including the fitting of internal doors
  • Final fitting of bathroom and kitchen units
  • Final fitting of electrical fixtures, plug points and switches
  • Final connection of water, gas and electricity

Please note:  A Completion Notice can be served up to 3 months before the completion date. You may receive a Completion Notice when the property is substantially complete, and we think that remaining works could be completed within 3 months.

Please check the completion date on any notice you receive, before you decide whether to appeal against it.

How your Council Tax will be affected

Once your property is complete, it will be subject to a full Council Tax charge from the completion date. This is the date it is brought onto the Council Tax Valuation List. A Completion Notice cannot be backdated, even if the property has been completed for some time.

If the property becomes occupied before a Completion Notice is served, it will be entered onto the Council Tax Valuation List and the occupier will be liable to pay Council Tax from the date of occupation.

What to do if you disagree with the Completion Notice

If you disagree with a Completion Notice, you must appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Service within 28 days of when the notice was served. Your appeal must be in writing, stating the grounds for the appeal, and you must include a copy of the Completion Notice that has been issued to you.

If you are thinking about submitting an appeal, please contact us by email at inspectors@barnet.gov.uk straight away.

We will look at our decision again, and we may:

  • Explain it to you in more detail
  • Ask you for more information about why you disagree with it
  • Change our decision and send a revised Completion Notice

We will advise you of our new decision as soon as possible, to allow you enough time to submit an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Service if you wish.

You can find out more about the Valuation Tribunal part of the appeal process, including contact details and an online appeal form, on the Valuation Tribunal Service website

How to register your new build property for Council Tax

Once your property has been finished, please email us at inspectors@barnet.gov.uk (opens your email client) and provide the following information:

  • Property Address
  • Your full name
  • The date the works were completed
  • Purchase/ completion date or start date of tenancy
  • Developers name and contact details

Or write to us, detailing the information listed above:

London Borough of Barnet
Local Taxation
PO Box 237
Erith
DA8 9HJ

The band of your property is set by the Valuation Office Agency and until they have set this we are unable to send a bill.

Our Council Officers will regularly visit and review dwellings that are being built or altered, please be aware that until the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) enter the property into the valuation list we are unable to send you a bill.

When the banding process has been completed your bill maybe backdated to the date you purchased property or to the date your tenancy started, so please bear this in mind and make the necessary arrangements.

The average band for a property is a band D. You can calculate roughly how much you will need to pay by visiting the Work out your Council Tax banding and valuation page

Street Naming and Numbering (SNN)

Street naming and numbering is the process by which streets and properties are allocated official addresses.

All new developments must be officially named or numbered, and existing properties that are being converted must be re-named and/or re-numbered.

As a developer or owner you must register postal addresses to avoid confusion in the event of an emergency and to receive mail, deliveries and other services.

Contact SNN

Please only contact SNN if you wish to change the official name or number of your property. SNN does not have anything to do with the setting of bands.

Street Naming & Numbering

2 Bristol Avenue

London

NW9 4EW

Tel: 020 8359 4500

Email: street.naming@barnet.gov.uk