Self Build Relief - Invalid Commencement - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

Daniel,

This has happened to us more than once here at TDBC and we do not use discretion. If the Commencement Notice is not submitted the relief is withdrawn and the CIL becomes payable in full immediately. The wording on our Notices does state that the Commencement Notice must be received and acknowledged by TDBC before commencement of works on site as we had people stating that the Commencement Notice had got lost in the post! It doesn't make you popular but we feel that it is important that local people know the lie of the land here at TDBC and do not abuse the system. We took legal advice on this and were supported in our decision. 

Rebecca  

I think there does need to be some sensible pragmatism shown in such situations where a genuine self-builder is late with their commencement notice by a couple of weeks.  Hitting someone with a large bill for an administrative error when the clear intention from the Governemnt is that self-builders get relief seems a bit brutal and just makes CIL very unpopular

 

Sorry, I disagree.  The law is the law and if a form is late and the Council accepts it then it has set a precedent for every other developer in the District.

Well done TDBC for taking the hardline.

Bryan

 

We did so for the first time this week.

The situation was a demolition of a dwelling and rebuild of a larger dwelling. Historically this type of development would not have attracted S106, and in essence there wouldnt really be any marked impact on infrastructure, so it felt a bit harsh punishing the self-builder for an administrative lapse. In addition it seemed that the agent/architect had not returned the correct paperwork on behalf of their client.

We also reminded ourselves that if they did go on to move out within the next 3 years, we'd still have the clawback position, so it wouldnt represent 'lost income'.

Hi all

There are a few things to be mindful of here:

1. The government drafted the regulations, so they clearly intended that there should not be any flexibility on this matter, as if they wished for flexibility they would have incorporated it.
2. CIL Charging Authorities do not have the discretion to turn a blind eye to the regulations.
3. When your auditors come checking, how will you explain that you have let somebody off from paying monies that they were legally required to pay.

In Bristol we provide ample information on our CIL Liability Notices and our website about claiming relief, and the need to claim it prior to development commencing. Our stance is that if we know development has commenced (either from a site visit or a cross check with our building control records etc) then we would not grant relief as Regulation 54B does not allow the relief to be claimed. Of course, if we don't know that a development has commenced and someone sends in a claim for relief along with a CIL Commencement Notice with a false commencement date on it, then they may get away with it as we simply do not have the time or resources to go out checking every commencement on a continual basis.

Having been operating CIL for nearly three years now, we still find that some developers and agents seem to think that their failure to do what they need to do in respect of CIL can be resolved by a phone call to the Council. Unfortunately that is often not the case as the regulations are very prescriptive in many respects.

Over the past year we have been involved in a situation where a self-builder did not complete any CIL forms or claim relief because he assumed that self builders were automatically exempt and that he could ignore CIL altogether. The first we knew about the development commencing was when it was 2 metres above ground level. He refused to pay the CIL on a matter of principle. In the end we applied to the Magistrates Court for a Liability Order (Regulation 97). The self builder contested this, however the Magistrates made the Liability Order, and in doing so noted that the regulations were very clear and prescriptive and did not allow for any discretion. The CIL was subsequently paid.

it is difficult but as a Charging Authority you do need to make it clear to applicants and agents how important it is that relief is claimed prior to development commencing, and that the regulations do not allow for discretion. Where people try to make a relief claim after development has commenced, we try to explain to them that CIL is very tightly controlled by regulations, which simply do not allow us the grant the relief. We also email them a link to the regulations and the Planning Practice Guidance, which are very clear on the matter.

Personally I hate having to tell genuine self builders that they cannot claim relief because they have commenced development. Unfortunately however, sometimes you have to do it, as there is no discretion in the regulations.

As an aside, we find it very rare that a CIL form comes in a day or two late. In virtually all cases they either come in on time or not at all.

Jim