A landlord has accused a government body of ‘pushing people towards homelessness’ after a revaluation of his property saw council tax prices soar. 

Graham Reid, who jointly owns a seven-bedroom bedsit on Great George Street in Weymouth with his wife, has been hit by an increase in council tax costs following a review by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).

The VOA decided each individual room in the property should have its own council tax band, Band A, instead of the previous single rating for the whole house. Now each tenant, who rents a room at between £75 to £85 per week, will have to pay an additional weekly cost of £17.42, a 20 per cent increase in their monthly outgoings. 

Mr Reid and his wife bought the house in 2002 when each room had its own table top cooker and oven grill. He said over time they have been replaced with ovens and hobs at surface level, however the shower and toilet facilities are shared. 

He said: “If this decision is applied across the country, all bedsits with an element of non-shared facilities will rise in cost at a similar level. 

“Now that the Valuation Office has made their decision then it has to be the case that others will follow, leading to a reduction in available units, and pushing some towards homelessness adding to the burden for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

“Tenants must find extra money which many do not have, so may either become homeless or move out of work and into benefits as then the council tax is paid for them.

“The decision will inevitably reduce housing stock and make it massively more expensive.

“There can be no logical answer other than a loss of affordable housing from this policy and hence deepen the housing crisis still further.”

Earlier this month, the Echo reported how only one affordable house had been delivered in Weymouth and Portland in the first six months of the financial year. 

Cllr Gill Taylor, borough council spokesman for housing, said she believes this issue will worsen the housing crisis in Weymouth.

She said: “The council are not happy with this.

“It’s making Mr Reid’s properties more expensive than his competitors and that’s not right. 

“It’s also going to really affect people on a low wage, it may even push some of them into the benefits system. For younger people, what is the incentive to stay in Weymouth?”

A Valuation Office Agency spokesperson said: “The VOA is not actively reviewing the assessments of HMOs and will continue to aggregate multiple properties into single assessments where appropriate.

“Generally, the VOA is notified of changes to a property by the local council – but sometimes the VOA becomes aware whilst dealing with other cases. We consider each property on a case by case basis.”