Morning:
8°c
With a single dessert and just two glasses of wine our bill was kept in check - but the effort of doing so was not much fun
Latest: Gordon Brown apologises for his poor handwriting and for misspelling the name of a dead soldier in a letter to the young man’s mother
More...
Snoopers' guide to your home
Last updated at 14:37pm on 09.03.07A picture guide to every home in England will be used by council-tax spies in a drive to push up homeowners' bills.
The "illustrated guide" for council tax inspectors is the first full evidence of how far they are prepared to intrude into homes to collect the highest possible amount.
Find out how the council tax inspectors will rate different types of home
Scroll down for more...
Barn conversions will result in a high value dwelling
Read more...
• New right of appeal if your home is listed
• Comment: Snooping on the homes of England
• The homes that earn more money a month than their owners do
The 80-page book carries 168 pictures of types of homes, which are divided into 99 groups. Inspectors are instructed to place every home into one of these groups.
They are then asked to decide if the householder should pay higher bills because of the neighbourhood and amenities of the house. Conservatories, swimming pools, balconies and parking spaces count to push up the tax rating.
So do pretty views of hills or lakes, closeness to good public transport, being part of a gated development, or even being near a golf course.
Granny flats do not escape the inspectors. The guide tells them to give a separate council tax rating to a granny flat, even if it has a door connecting it to the main house.
The "spy's guide" appears to have been prepared as a prelude to a full-scale revaluation of every aspect of every home in England as part of a revamp of the council tax system.
Whitehall officials said the document has been prepared only to help in the regular revaluation of homes that occurs whenever a property is sold. This system has been in place for 14 years. But the guide is understood to have been completed and made available to inspectors only last year.
And opposition politicians said it has been readied for inspectors preparing to put a new council tax value on more than 21 million flats and houses in England in the coming council tax revaluation.
The document contains pictures of 168 different types of homes, from cottages to manor houses and even caravans, extensions and houseboats. All homes, the instructions say, should be put in a group to match one of these properties.
Inspectors are told to take account of "architectural style and characteristics" of a home when they decide at what rate its occupiers should be billed for council tax.
Then they are given 66 "value significant features" to look for that mean a home will attract higher or lower council tax bills. Among them, those in gated developments will be rated higher while council houses will get lower ratings.
But the document makes clear that for those in "quality" homes, bills will not come down even if their home is dilapidated.
As an example, inspectors are told that a pre-1919 large villa or small Georgian house "is a quality dwelling and in this respect no regard should be had to its present condition or location when allocating the group".
The instructions on how to adjust the tax codes apply to conditions such as a home with extra parking spaces, a swimming pool, a countryside view, or in a gated development.
Inspectors have powers to enter properties to check on alterations and extensions. They expect to do this for one in every 100 homes.
The "illustrated guide" for council tax inspectors has been made public following Freedom of Information requests after months of stalling by ministers. They claimed that since it contains pictures of real homes it could not be published "in order to protect privacy".
Tories said it has been produced as part of a "stealth campaign" to prepare for the revaluation of homes for council tax which is certain to see a new and heavy hike in bills for millions.
The revaluation, the first since 1991, was postponed in the autumn of 2005 as the Government tried to damp down protests over rising council tax.
Disclosure of the "revaluation handbook" follows months of concern over the powers available to 4,300 staff of the Valuation Office Agency, the quango in charge of putting homes into council tax bands, and the methods they use.
Inspectors can jack up bills for homes which have good transport, large gardens or are close to amenities such as a golf course. They have powers to demand entry to homes to check on alterations that have produced extra rooms or space - and householders who refuse them entry can face fines.
The handbook - Dwellinghouse Coding: An Illustrated Guide - puts houses and flats into one of 99 groups.
Inspectors are told: "Each of these groups will comprise what should be an easily recognisable class of dwelling."
They should mark homes with "dwellinghouse codes" according to which group they fall into.
They are told they should classify a house first on its architectural style, then on size and accommodation.
They must take into account the number of rooms and bathrooms, whether the house has central heating, the number of floors, parking space, and the outbuildings, ignoring garden sheds and coal bunkers.
The inspectors are told to rate conservatories according to whether they are single-glazed, double-glazed or lean-to.
They then give a code for "special features that affect the value of a property". A long list of codes is given, with an explanation that "these features could vary from a positive feature, ie tennis court, to a negative feature, ie next to an electricity sub-station".
The last council tax valuation was carried out in 1991 before the introduction of the tax. The revaluation is certain to reflect soaring prices, particularly in the southern half of England.
Promises that it will not be used to bring in stealthy council tax hikes are likely to be widely disbelieved following the revaluation in Wales two years ago in which a big majority of homes saw their bills go up.
Tory local government spokesman Caroline Spelman said: "Ministers have given authority for every home to be sized up, and every home improvement or sign of a nice neighbourhood to be photographed, catalogued and taxed by Gordon Brown's inspectors. Council tax bills will rise purely for living in a quiet road, being near to a bus stop, or having a parking space.
"Ministers have shown shocking contempt for Parliament by refusing to reveal their sinister handbook. No wonder they are now clamping down on the Freedom of Information laws which secured its release."
The Valuation Office Agency said: "Reports of a 'revaluation by stealth' are pure invention.
"The agency has a duty to maintain the lists of council tax bands. It has done this since council tax was introduced by the previous government in 1993 - nothing has changed."
The agency already has pictures of 2.2 million homes on its database.
Reader views (20)
When you read the story properly it says that about one house in a hundred is likely to be inspected, scarcely what some scare headlines would have you believe. If the basis of Council Tax is to be what your house is worth then someone has to assess its value, and having a guide to ensure some level of consistency seems only sensible. If the Conservatives don't want this, don't want the LibDem local income tax, aren't planning to reintroduce Poll Tax, then what is their policy? Taxing people on some vague notion of what their homes (even if unbuilt) would have been worth in 1991 regardless of what has happened since? Even the Monster Raving Loony Party wouldn't be this stupid.
- Tonyb, Twickenham, UK
Can someone start a suitably worded petition on the Downing Street website about this latest outrage? Tony Bliar and his henchmen keep poking us until finally we'll break!
- Craig, Pinner, Middlesex
So if you work hard, save up, buy a home and provide for your family this Government penalises you. If you don't work, sit at home and take drugs you are basically rewarded.
I know for sure that I will not be voting for this Government - I hope the rest of this Country does the same and we get rid of the idiots!
- J Kaur, Kent
Why should Council Tax be based on the characteristics of my house? I thought the idea was to pay for the local services I USE - as a higher rate tax payer with private medical insurance etc and no children all I really get from the £150 a month I currently pay is my bins emptied (and my Council does not actaully provide bins and I recycle most of my rubbish anyway).
So what if I live near a golf course? I don't play golf... I can't help it if there is a golf club near by. There is also a main road - is that a negative factor or a good transport link?
So what if I have a conservatory? I paid for it - including 17.5% VAT. I also paid stamp duty on the purchase price of the house from wages that are already taxed.
So council houses will attract a lower tax as they are not as desirable - once again I, and others like me, will be supporting everyone else whilst paying through the nose for the goods and services I need.
I take it these 'inspectors' who want to visit individual homes will only do so during working hours - will they reimburse me for a days holiday? I think not!
Reality check - nice house does not necessarily mean wads of disposable income. Nice house means years of saving and careful planning.
Tony Blurggghhh and cronies signed us up to the Human Rights legislation, an important facet thereof is the right to a private life - so no muddy shoed council flunkies will be tromping through my house taking pictures.
Fine me - I dare you!
- Dafi, Ely, Cambs
If you don't own the view/amenity then how is it that you can pay tax on it? Are we going to have every property revalued when any local development takes place because you view changes? If my neighbours put up garish curtains or store a boat/caravan in their driveway then do I get money back? What happens when builders put a skip in the street?
- J C West Sussex, Haywards Heath, UK
Incredible. More tax on fuel, rubbish public transport, huge train fares, no pension to look forward to and now even though it costs all our salaries to invest for our futures, they're going to TAX that more, as well. It's not fair at all, and totally unworkable.
I pay well in excess of £1000 per year in council tax anyways, living 60m outside London - to get in to town for work costs £3.5k per year and the trains are late at least 40-50% of the time, if they show at all.
I already pay a tax on my nice quite country home - travelling to work just costs so much. If you're located in London, you're taxed because of better transport but huge house prices, so where's the logic and who's the winner?
The bins are collected once a fortnight, we have to buy our own bags because the council ones are rubbish and break, plus they leave you enough for about two months, even though I recycle as much as possible.
Then, on top of that, the council are currently implementing permit parking - £600 per year, PER CAR and road tax is up too.
Time for people to wise-up and calculate where Gordy thinks his £8bn defecit will come from - that's right me and you.
Are things better under Labour? No.
Do yourselves a huge favour; ensure you are opted out of SERPS today, cut them off from at least 2% of YOUR money.
- Stoovil, Essex, England
I've lived in Chelsea all my life (I'm 61) and now live in a bedsit. I pay Band D council tax. The misconception (notably by Livingstone) that we're all rich in this area is so wrong. I really can't afford to pay more and there are thousands more like me.
- Maura Casey, Chelsea, London
The thing that should greatly concern everyone is the way in which this whole thing has been cooked up behind closed doors in Whitehall. Unelected and largely unaccountable socialist civil servants hellbent on creating a wealth tax on UK householders by the back door. Let's be absolutely clear, this tax has nothing to do with services as it takes no account of matches resources with required local services. This is also a tax which could be ratcheted up annually via the mechanism of a national or regional house price index. Bear in mind the government via the Inland Revenue knows precisely what is happening in the housing market via stamp duty returns! This will allow them to keep screwing us year in, year out plus the bonus of nailing us for housing improvements [paid for out of taxed incomer and on which VAT has been paid]. This will also allow them to catch any housing improvements paid for, in cash, as they can demand to see VAT invoices for improvements if we contest their valuation of enhancements. The more one looks at this the more sinister it becomes, real police state stuff. My real fear is that the Tories have said absolutely nothing about this stealth-wealth tax? What is going on here? I can forsee old folks being forced to sell their houses whether they want to or not because they cannot afford to pay this jumped up wealth-stealth tax. In the USA, taxes are levied on house values but are locally established and if local officials screw up they are chucked out pronto!
- James, London
How could 1/3rd of voters say they'd vote to bring this rabble back? It just boggles the mind.
- R M, London, UK
Adam T Spencer in London - please get a life. Sounds like your head is as empty as the box in your EBay story. These plans are an insult and an infringement on our civil liberties. I demand the right to privacy in my own home from a government that has wormed its way into nearly every aspect of my life. They even want to accompany me on journeys by car using a black box device!
Vote them out.
- Don, Hull
So what exactly am I paying for. What does my council tax go towards. I know it is not on services. Recently I found rats down the side of my house due mostly to the intermittant service of the waste collectors. I phoned my council to ask them to look into it, it would have cost me £100 for them to make 3 visits to put down rat poison. I could do the same myself for a fiver. Why should I pay for this service? Is this not what my council tax goes towards?
- Lyn, London
Oh great can just about afford to pay my council tax and other bills as it is. So another rise will basically break my bank. Soon people won't be able to afford to live in houses nevermid buy or rent them. And what exactly do we pay council tax for cos I know my council do absolutely nothing for me or my area.
- Emma, London
Sophie 'don't let them in' is a laudable position, but I think you'll find these inspectors are to be given a statutory right of entry, so if you don't let them in, you will be breaking the law.
- Philip, London, England
Just don't let them in. If we all tell them to go away, then there's absolutely nothing they can do about it. Mass civil disobediance would be very effective here.
- Sophie, UK
In summary, council tax will rise because of this, rise by 300 pounds per person because councils didn't implement an equal pay agreement made ten years ago, will rise for me in London because of the stupid unwanted ten billion pound olympics, and this year will rise 2pc above inflation.
Insane.
- Ian, London
Oh my, what great news! Increased council tax can only mean one thing. More families crippled by unmanagable payments. Soon, they will be forced to sell their ipods and xboxs on eBay. Not that I suggest eBay as a way of disposing of items. I have had quite a few nasty experiences with them. Once a man sold me an army toy, which I was going to give to my nephew for his birthday. I paid £35 and when it arrived it seemed to be just an empty box. I emailed the seller and asked him what is was. He said it was 'Missing in Action Man' and it was very rare and collectible. Only 5 were made apparently. I wrapped it up and gave it to my nephew and the look on his little rosy face when he opened it was priceless. But, getting back on track, I think this is a great initiative as the current council tax banding is too uneven. This will make it fairer and more workable.
- Adam T. Spencer, London
I wish this government would get it over with and just raise income tax and cut out the nonsense with all stealth taxes.
Just take my money Gordon Brown, go and waste it any way you want. I know I can't stop you. Just you and your filthy inspectors, get the hell out of my life.
- Tim, London
Can they let us know when they're coming so that I can put the cars up on bricks and board up a window or two. Maybe I'll swap the cat for a slavering pitbull and chain that to the outside tap too...
- Paul, London
Will they take into consideration the fact I have got very noisy neighbours? And that this decreases the desirability of my propperty? I very much doubt it, I am lucky to live in a nice road, but have shockingly awful neighbours which the council and police refuse to do anything about, they have parties all weekend long and sell drugs but yet the police,who are funded by the tax payer will not do anything to stop this behaviour, but becasue I happen to have a good view and a new bathroom I will be taxed so much that I probably won't be able to afford toilet paper to put in said bathroom! How on earth can they justify a higher tax band? Something has gone seriously wrong with this country. Can sombody please tell me how we can get this goverment out of office before the next election PLEASE?
- Helen F, Kent
Ok this is stupid, stupid, stupid.
Firstly there's going to be an enormous overhead in paying inspectors and administration. This overhead will absorb much, possibly all, of the additional revenue generated, a loss to the individual and the economy.
Second there will be an inevitable round of confusion with a system this complex. 99 different classifications with differences subject to interpretation by council officials. Are they insane?
Third what about our civil liberties. These people have or will have the right to enter our properties without our permission or warrant. They will be able to threaten us, bully us and generally throw their weight around. In addition what about our safety, will these people be vetted, will the checks be stringent enough. Will we be faced with the nightmare of a peodophile with the legal right to enter our homes and spy on our children?
Listen up Tony, Gordon and the rest. NO, NO, NO, NO! Don't try to wriggle around this by re-branding the scheme as you are doing with the road pricing scheme. We don't want it.
- Tobin, Andover
