We rent a small housing association property and pay council tax at present, however we are thinking about living for a few months on a permanent basis in our touring caravan before deciding whether to give up the council flat. The idea is to try and pay off some times as we will be better off financially living in the caravan.

At present I only have temporary work and rely mostly on the wife's income as it is difficlut getting any work when you are over sixty and have a disability. Unfortunately as she works more than 24 hours a week so we can't claim any benefits and besides I hate jumpinmg through hoops to get a few pounds.

As we will not be living in the flat what is the general stance that councils take on an unoccupied but furnished property? We can easlily prove that we are living in the caravan and as it is in a different council area altogether IMHO there should be no issues.

You would not be entitled to an exemption if the property is furnished. If the property is unfurnished you could get an exemption for up to 6 months.

Thanks

Is that correct even if the house is housing assocation/council? Just wondered because does that mean I can empty my house and leave it there and go on holiday for 6 months with the money I would of paid in Council Tax?!!!

Is that correct even if the house is housing assocation/council?

That has no bearing on the issue other than you may fall foul of clauses in the tenancy agreement.

The "Council Tax: A Guide to Your Bill" leaflet states:

"Dwellings are exempt for a limited period if they are:

• dwellings which have been unoccupied and (except in the case of dwellings owned and last occupied by a charity) unfurnished, for up to six months;"

There does not seem to be any more information about there being conditions on reasons why the property is unoccupied. Councils seem to ask what the future use of the property is rather than why it is currently unoccupied. Info needed does seem to differ between Councils. My Council doesn't even ask what is happening to the property in future. All they want is a signed declaration that the property is unoccupied and unfurnished.

You would need to check your tenancy agreement to see if there are any clauses about leaving the property unoccupied for a period of time. As obviously they could apply to the Court for a warrant of eviciton if you break your tenancy conditions.

Even if it is not stipulated in your agreement you should tell them you are going away. Most organisations do some sort of unannounced tenancy checks or a neighbour may mention something about the property being empty to the Housing Officer. So you may come back to find court proceedings against you or even that you have been evicted as they have not been able to get hold of you. Even more likely if the property is unfurnished as it will be assumed that you have abandoned the property.

It could be argued that the property is not your only or principle home if you are going to be away for a period. But I think this would only really stick if this was going to be a regular thing and you were not working away from home, etc. In the end it would be up to the legal advice given on whether an eviction would be pursued and then to the Judge as to whether it would be granted.

The other thing you would have to consider is that if the property is obviously not lived in you may come home to find squatters have moved in. Then you would have to stay in temporary accommodation (probably B&B) until the matter can be sorted. Squatting is more of a problem in some areas than others.