GARDEN CHARGE
Council Tax Demands 2022-2023
Why the Garden Charge increased
Residents of Earls Court Square who are liable to pay the Garden Charge (the Garden Committee members who under the Kensington Improvement Act have exclusive rights of use of the garden) may have been surprised to see the Garden Charge precept included in Council Tax has increased 8%, when at the General Meeting of the Garden Committee in January 2022, the budget presented and approved unanimously was for an unchanged Garden levy. Why is this?
The reason lies in the variation from year to year in the number of properties which are either zero-rated for Council Tax purposes (complete list below) or where there is only a single person residing, who is entitled to a 25% discount. If the number of these properties rises - which has evidently happened this year - then the Garden Levy approved by the Garden Committee is divided by a smaller number of Garden Charge payers, meaning they have to pay more to raise the same sum of money for the garden.
The complete list of categories of Council Tax exempt properties is:
Class B - Unoccupied property owned by a charity (exempt for up to six months)
Class D - Property left empty by a prisoner (no time limit)
Class E - Property left empty by a person receiving personal care in a hospital or care home (no time limit)
Class F - Left empty following the death of a taxpayer
Class G - Occupation is prohibited by law
Class H - Empty and awaiting occupation by a minister of religion
Class I - Left empty by someone who has moved to receive personal care from another person
Class J - Left empty by someone who has moved to provide personal care to another person
Class K - Property left empty by a student
Class L - Property repossessed by the mortgagee
Class M - Halls of residence
Class N - Properties occupied by students or school leavers
Class O - Armed Forces accommodation such as barracks
Class P - Properties occupied by members of visiting forces
Class Q - Property left empty by bankrupts
Class R - Unoccupied caravan pitches and houseboat moorings
Class S - Properties occupied by persons under 18
Class T - Unoccupied annexes which form part of a single property and may not be let separately without a breach of planning consent
Class U - Properties occupied by persons who are severely mentally impaired
Class V - Property where at least one person who would otherwise be liable is a diplomat
Class W - Annexes and similar accommodation occupied by an elderly or disabled relative