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I was a buy to let landlord with 2 residential properties that were put into receivership by the lender in march/April 2008 . They used the Law of Property Act of 1925 to grab these 2 properties , both of which had paying tenants in them. The tenants have now left and the LPA receivers have not bothered trying to find new tenants. I am now being chased by the local council for council tax on these empty properties.
Thing is this
Essentially the lenders are "mortagees on possession" albeit via their receivers. I do not get any rent from the property, i cant even access them as the locks have been changed. i cant sell the property or rent it out myself. i have no control over what happens to the property, apparently the "reveivers" can just sell them for whatever they can get !!
But no possession order has been sought by the lender yet in the courts as this way they have complete control over the properties WITHOUT going to court..
obviously i dont want to pay council tax on properties which effectivly are not mine ?
what if anything can i do/say to the council ? i cant afford to pay in any event
Yes this is the problem, i have already had another property repossessed with a court order and in that case the council in question canceled my account and started billing my previous lender ( because i could show them a copy of the court order)
But in these 2 cases because the lender did not go to court and just used an LPA receiver to by-pass the court process , according to the council I am still the legal owner and therfore liable for council tax!?
There's a paragraph on the CAB's website which mirrors Conniff's list closely, however ther is another reason to be exempt....
Properties exempt from council tax
Some property is exempt from council tax altogether. It may be exempt for only a short period, for example, six months, or indefinitely.
Properties which may be exempt include:
property which is empty. This means it has to be unoccupied. The property also has to be substantially unfurnished. The exemption applies for a maximum of six months and the property has to be vacant for the whole of this period (although up to six weeks of occupation during the period is allowed)
property which is vacant because it needs major repairs or alterations to make it habitable. The exemption applies for a maximum of 12 months whether the work is actually finished or not by then
condemned property
property which has been legally re-possessed by a mortgage lender
property unoccupied because the person who lived there now lives elsewhere because they need to be cared for, for example, in hospital, in a care home or with relatives
property which is unoccupied because the person who lived there has gone to care for someone else
any property that only students live in. This may be a hall of residence, or a house
a caravan or boat which is used as a main residence but which is unoccupied. This exemption lasts for up to six months. A holiday caravan or boat is exempt if it's on a property where council tax is paid
a property where all the people who live in it are aged under 18
a property where all the people who live in it are either severely mentally impaired or are students or where there is a mixture of both
a self-contained ‘granny flat’ where the person who lives in it is a dependent relative of the owner of the main property.
I used this clause to release our liability on our old house, as we're now waiting to rent it out and it is empty, also.
These 2 properties are with 2 different councils, One council said that it would back date the exemption, but now in Jan 2009 that exemption has run out so they say i am liable ... i'm waiting for the other one to get back to me, i wish there was a legal president or another stat law or something i could quote to them to get them off my back.
What I know for sure is as follows, hope it helps.
You do not have to Pay Council Tax, If you are a Non-UK Citizen but currently a UK Resident with "No Recourse to Public Funds" clause in your UK Visa AND either you or your Spouse/Partner is a Full-Time Student. (if both are Students, of course you don't need to pay the Council Tax)
However, you are liable to pay the Full Rate of Council Tax as soon as the Studentship is over.
What I know for sure is as follows, hope it helps.
You do not have to Pay Council Tax, If you are a Non-UK Citizen but currently a UK Resident with "No Recourse to Public Funds" clause in your UK Visa AND either you or your Spouse/Partner is a Full-Time Student. (if both are Students, of course you don't need to pay the Council Tax)
However, you are liable to pay the Full Rate of Council Tax as soon as the Studentship is over.
Who is liable for council tax ? HELP
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Originally Posted by dsbos
