A man whose home was damaged “beyond repair” after a fire-raising attack five years ago said he is being chased for council tax despite the flat lying empty.
Gordon Bunce, 64, received a demand notice for council tax owed on his flat on Garland Place. He and his partner have not lived there since fire ripped through the buildings after a fire-raising attack by Brian Martin in April 2012.
His property suffered extensive damage as a result and his home has been uninhabited since. Mr Bunce has been living in other accommodation for the last five years while his insurance company settled.
Insurers had covered mortgage and council tax payments while he and his partner lived elsewhere but, after agreeing to pay him a sum for the property, Mr Bunce became eligible for the council tax owed on the property.
Shortly after securing the keys to his new flat, Mr Bunce said he received a demand notice from the council asking for an immediate payment of £222.
He said: “I had paid up to the end of this month at my old property, and wrote to the council to inform them I had a new house, so will be eligible to pay what I owe.
“I am happy to do that of course, I am happy to pay my way and what I owe. But I think it is unfair I’m receiving letters from the council demanding money for a property which has been deemed ‘uninhabitable’ and ‘unsaleable’ by solicitors.
“I can’t live there, and it can’t be rented out. It is uninhabitable and lying empty. I have asked for help from the council and I am not getting any. I’m on a fixed pension income and I simply cannot afford to pay an additional council tax bill.”
In two separate letters from solicitors, Mr Bunce has been told his damaged derelict property is “likely to be unsaleable” and would not provide security for “loan purposes”.
One of the valuations, carried out on behalf of DM Hall LLP, states: “The property in its present condition has no value and is more of a liability than an asset due to the uncertainty of the improvement and refurbishment that is required to the tenement as a whole.”
They also describe the adjoining building, which is where the attack was carried out, as “derelict”, and any future development project would have to involve the tenement block.
A spokesman for Dundee City Council said: “The council has an obligation to collect council tax, even when a residential property is empty.
“We are continuing to engage and assist Mr Bunce on the matters he has raised with us.”
Brian Martin was jailed for eight and a half years for his “wicked crime”, after setting fire to flooring in 12 Garland Place.
Fifteen residents had to be rescued from the buildings and one firefighter was injured after a staircase collapsed and he fell about eight feet.
