A vote has paved the way for homeowners in one part of the county to start paying council tax again if they are living in an uninhabitable home.

For the past nine years, people living in Tonbridge and Malling caught out by flooding or fire have been able to secure a holiday on paying their council tax for a period of up to 12 months.

But now that is about to change.

In a report from the borough council its revenues manager, Glen Pritchard, outlined how the local authority it looking to abolish the relief by voting to reduce the “discount” from 100% to zero.

Uninhabitable properties are defined as those requiring or undergoing structural alteration or major repair.

There has never been a High Court case to determine the definition of “major repair”, and therefore, the decision to approve an award has always been at an individual officer’s discretion.

Mr Pritchard explained: “An owner’s view on whether a property should be classed as ‘uninhabitable’ is often significantly different from the local authority’s view.”

“That has led to an increasing number of challenges in recent years, resulting in complaints and appeals being submitted to the valuation tribunal.

“This is time-consuming for the officers involved and requires a disproportionate amount of effort being spent on a discount that is only awarded on average to around 50 properties a year out of a total of 56,725 in the borough.”

Reducing the discount to zero would generate an extra £12,000 a year for the council, although it would cost householders much more than that because they would then also be obliged to pay the county, fire, police and parish precepts.

The council said that although £12,000 might not seem a significant figure in terms of its overall budget, given the current budget position there was a requirement to make ever greater savings.

Mr Pritchard added: “In addition, there will be a saving in the staff time being dedicated to dealing with these issues.”

Cllr Kim Tanner (Con) is the cabinet member responsible for finance. She said: “It does take up a ridiculous amount of officers’ time.

“They are constantly in battle with residents who disagree with our interpretation of what is uninhabitable.”

It was said that most claims were made by homeowners who had just bought a property that required refurbishment or renovation, rather than those in an emergency situation.

Cllr David Thornewell (Lib Dem) thought the change sounded a “bit harsh” and wanted reassurance that “If my house burns down tonight, you won’t be chasing me for Council Tax.”

Mr Pritchard said the council would still have the discretion to waive the bill in extreme cases, if supported by a vote of the council.

Cllr Turner assured Cllr Thornewell: “Don't worry, we are a very compassionate council. We will look after you.”

The reduction was agreed unanimously by the cabinet to come into effect next April.

The decision will need to be ratified by a meeting of the full council.

Of the 12 other local authorities in Kent, five currently do not give any discount.

They are Dartford, Folkestone and Hythe, Maidstone, Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells.

The others all give a 100 per cent discount.