I'm living on a blow up bed because of Wirral's Council Tax policy

Jordan Pearson – who is a first time buyer – planned to do up a four-bed home in Oxton with a view to making it into somewhere they could bring up a family. He bought the property in in April 2024, but later the same year found out he should have been paying double the rate of council tax.

Unbeknown to him when he bought it, Mr Pearson discovered that nine months before he bought the property, the previous owners had moved into a care home, rendering the house as empty. Current Wirral Council policy on empty homes means double council tax kicks in one year after the property is empty, tripling for the second year, and quadrupling for the third year.

While the council used to waive the charge for empty properties undergoing renovations, council tax reductions policy approved by councillors for the last few years have not included this. On its website, Wirral Council states that “properties requiring or undergoing structural repairs, or those that are uninhabitable, are no longer exempt and no discount will apply. A full council Tax charge will be payable.”

However the government’s guidance regarding council tax and empty homes states: “If you’re making major home improvements to your property and cannot live in it, you can ask to have it removed from the council tax list. This means you will not pay council tax on it.”

Facing paying double council tax while also renovating his house, Mr Pearson told the LDRS: “I have had to put a blow up bed in. I am living on a blow up air bed with an airfryer. That is what I have had to do because I can’t pay double council tax.

“I am living on an airbed in absolute c**p because I can’t afford to pay that.

The whole idea is that I am a bit of a DIY fanatic. This was a four bed detached which needed a lot of work doing to it, but I was willing to make that sacrifice. Since then, I have had an absolute nightmare with the council. I have had to pay £4,000 in council tax when I should have had about £2,500.”

He said the house had needed everything done to it as it hadn’t been updated from the 70s, adding: “It’s put a dampener on it. It’s an absolute stress on top of everything else.”

Mr Pearson believes buyers should be informed if the property is currently empty so they don’t land in the same situation. As he was only informed in November, he said he’d built up several months worth of debt without even knowing.

Wirral Council declined to comment.