Fife Council is still pursuing a great-grandfather for thousands of pounds in a wrangle over council tax.
For nearly a decade James Henderson (76), of Inverkeithing, has refused to pay council tax on his granny flat because it cannot be sold or rented as a separate property.
In January The Courier reported that Mr Henderson was refusing to stump up until the council made up its mind if the building, where he lives with his son’s family, was one house or two.
He now faces arrears in the region of £15,000 and, having had his assets seized, fears his wife will also be made bankrupt as the council tries to recover the debt.
Mr Henderson said: “I pay £2,500 of council tax on the property at the moment, but they want me to pay £4,000 a year in council tax.
“I’ve spent thousands of pounds going to court. I wish they would make up their minds. They’re getting nothing and it’s costing them money to do that. It’s a waste of public money. They don’t care but it must be costing them thousands of pounds.”
The pensioner said he was made to sign a section 75 agreement, which prevented him from selling or renting the converted car port.
“All I want is common sense. Just tell us: is it one or two? If it’s going to be two, then get rid of the section 75. If it’s one property, then I’m already paying council tax on one.
“How many houses in Fife pay two lots of council tax? I just want an answer. We were told by an assessor nine years ago: if you pay now we will get this resolved. But if I had been paying it they would have told me to keep paying it.
“It looks like we might have to take the council to court because we’re not getting anywhere. I was in hospital last year because of my heart and the doctors put it down to stress.”
Fife Council’s head of revenue and exchequer services Eileen Rowand said: “We are in contact with the Hendersons and their solicitors on this matter and are actively pursuing the council tax debt owed to the council.
“As our assessors have previously stated, there are two properties at Muckle Hill Park. Legislation dictates that we charge council tax on both properties. The Hendersons have the right to appeal this decision.”