Trevor Nunn

Hello,
I have been undertaking major works on a renovation to our house for the last 2 years.
Works paused for some months and are due to recommence early next year.
It has been empty for the entire time and we have a letter confirming that Council Tax has not been payable on the house since March 2023 on the basis that it was considered uninhabitable.
That being the case....
(i) If work recommences after March 2025, am I right in thinking that any work after this time could be conducted at a reduced VAT rate from any contractors of 5%?
(ii) Should this Council Tax confirmation be sufficient for any contractor to be satisfied that they should only charge a reduced rate of VAT?
(iii) In the first phase of works, there was considerable insulation added to walls, floors and roof space.
We seem to have been charged 20% for this by the contractor.
Should this not have been at a reduced rate of 5% for insulation?

For clarity, if I register for VAT voluntarily for the modest sale of wildflower seeds and organic hay which will be just a few thousand pounds annually, will it entitle me to recover input tax for the works to the farmhouse (which is essential to the full-time operation of the site which is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and so is a "mixed use farm"). The costs of painting these obligations are considerable so I would like to recover input tax from works to the house given that it essential for the full-time upkeep of the SSSI. The cost of the farmhouse works are likely to be considerable but I am led to believe that I can claim a percentage of the VAT on this? We are not extending. The house has been untouched for 40 years so the works are necessary.

Thank you. We do sell seed we harvest from the wildflowers and the organic hay but it has never been enough to warrant being VAT registered. Can we register nonetheless to benefit from the input tax. It feels like we are being penalised from having all the obligations and costs from running the farm as a SSSI without being able to at least cover those costs so would be good if we could reclaim a portion of the input tax for repairs and renovations necessary to the farmhouse which essential to the management of the SSSI.

I live on a farmhouse on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This is recognised as a farm and I have a number of obligations under agreement with Natural England and DEFRA to maintain the SSSI status (it is a rare 35 acre wildflower meadow). This means that, while it is recognised as a farm and I have considerable costs to maintain it, it receives no income beyond minimal fundings from a Stewardship Agreement with Natural England so there has been no need for me to be VAT registered. That being the case, and I am able to reclaim input costs incurred in the repair of the farmhouse? It is the worst of both worlds otherwise as I have the costs of running a farm but without the VAT benefits?