Error sees 700% council tax hike for residents at King's Lynn sheltered housing complex

An error in council tax banding at a ‘Housing with Care’ complex in Lynn has seen residents’ payments increase by more than 700 per cent.

Norse Care-run Lisbon Court on Galyon Road, which provides elderly people with personal care in their own homes, has recently had its council tax banding changed, meaning residents will in future pay £59.52 per month instead of the previous £7.15.

A spokeswoman for West Norfolk Council confirmed that Lisbon Court, which comprises 30 individual units where elderly residents live independently but also have 24-hour access to care and communal facilities, was “incorrectly banded many years ago”.

She said previously the whole building had a band of G, whereas the individual properties have now been valued as band A.

“For many years, residents have not been charged what they should have been due to this error,” she said.

Information taken from the Valuation Office website suggests that Lisbon Court had the incorrect band of G, as a whole building, for 20 years.

Peter Jackson, whose 96-year-old aunt lives at Lisbon Court, said until recently council tax was collected from residents as part of the rental package by managing agents Broadlands Housing.

Residents were then informed that this arrangement would change, and in future the payment would be made directly to West Norfolk Council.

However, only a matter of weeks ago the details of the change emerged, Mr Jackson said, which showed that the payments would be increasing by more than 700 per cent.

Mr Jackson described it as a “staggering increase”.

He said: “I have written to the council finance department, expressing my concerns and they have responded by saying that the premises were wrongly assessed in the first place and that the change is only correcting the original error.

“They have belatedly decided that the complex is significantly different to a care home – which is rated as a single building – because the residents have their own bed-sit arrangements.

“A more cynical view might suggest that this is simply a case of easy pickings from a vulnerable section of the community.”

He added: “I realise that councils are having to find new ways of funding their activities but to place such an unequal burden upon elderly pensioners in care, amongst the most vulnerable in society, many of whom are infirm and perhaps do not fully understand the impact of such a move, seems unduly harsh.”

The spokeswoman for West Norfolk Council said the change came into effect from 1 October 2018, and as these are sheltered homes, each flat should pay individual council tax, the same as everywhere else in the borough.

When they learned that this change was going to come in, the council arranged for welfare officers to visit residents in the flats at Lisbon Court to explain the situation, she added.

The welfare officers have provided advice and help “where possible” and encouraged those on low incomes to apply for council tax support.

The officers are still available to help residents if needed.

The spokeswoman said while no other supported-living accommodation has been affected by changes like these to date, the Valuation Office have the right to review property bandings.

She said it is impossible to estimate how much council tax revenue would have been lost by the incorrect banding.

“It is a difficult situation, but council tax should always have been charged per property based on individual bandings for the flats, the same as for everyone else in the borough,” she added.