Any council tax experts in the “house”

Anyone had a similar or experience in the below scenario please?

I work away and have my own house which i pay single occupancy Council tax on. Met the future wife a few years ago, she had her own house, so i spent most weekends with her. Things progressed and we wed a month ago.

I’ve kept the same work situation, and I’m still away during the week, same house, same payments to council tax.  So where do we stand with council tax on our now joint home? I’m guessing it’ll be full price on what now is our family home?

Google hasn’t helped.

If your wife lives in your house, then the council tax is now full price as there are two adults in residence at the property.

I’m not sure working away during the week entitles you to a discount unfortunately.

Does more than 1 adult live in the house? Then full council tax. It doesn’t make any difference if you work away during the week or whatever.

https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/who-has-to-pay

The second home (if you still have it) will be re-categorised as well. You might get a discount and you might pay double in 12 months

Are the potholes fixed yet?

Some councils have a weird definition of who lives where.

I had to pay for one lodger, September to March, but he worked offshore and because of lockdowns and things ended up only spending two weeks in my house over that period, but because it was his only home I had to pay for him for the full six months.

My other lodger still officially lived at his parent’s (something to do with where he was registered to vote) so I didn’t have to pay even though he was here all the time.

Scottish Borders Council if that makes any difference. Seems a mad system. Worth asking your council what they define as your home and her home.

So nothing has changed in our living arrangements. Wife gets the single occupancy rate, as do I.

So you are still in two houses?  This is starting to sound all a bit Angela Rayner ?

Are the potholes fixed yet?

Well council funding has decreased 40% in real terms in the last decade so…. no, probably not.

Last year inflation was roughly 10% but most council tax rises were capped at 2.8% so there’s 7% effective cut right there.

I’m not saying councils are perfect but they are all currently scrabbling to stay out of bankruptcy and the decisions that lead here were made in Westminster, not in city halls.

If you both live alone in separate houses then you both pay the discounted rate. If, as they will suspect, you both live together for even part of the time in one or both homes, you will pay full rate.

I had this issue (different reasons, same issue). After much go around we ended up paying 1 full, 1 discount.