Hi, thanks in advance for any advice received.

My brother has recently moved into the same area as me, under the same council.

He decided to move at this time of the year, as feb/march are both council tax "free" months for both his old/new councils, and obviously, the extra money comes in handy for moving expenses.

He notified the council within 48 hours of getting the keys to his new place, with the new tenancy beginning on the 15th feb.

He has never had any arrears on his previous property, and the account it up to date, and closed., He expected to get the standard, annual CT bill in march, like everyone else, as told to him by the letting agent, which would then become payable on april 1st.

Today, he has had a CT bill "demand" for the period of 15th feb - 31st march, for the amount of £192. Roughly, 1.5 months council tax, which says it is to be paid within 7 days or face further action.

This is the first correspondance he's had from new LA.

He is single, so is entitled to the 25% discount, and when he told them this on the phone the first time he rang, they told him to wait until the bill comes, then to call, and they will then send out the revised bill.

So, I may well be totally wrong here, but why is he paying council tax for the exempt months?

This means, that he will have the £192 to pay by the 31/3 plus, £127 (roughly because they can't give amount till bill is given) on 1/4.

Am I totally in the wrong for thinking he should not be paying the feb/march period, and should be getting a standard bill in march like everyone else?

I tried to do some research on this before I posted, but all I can find, relates to empty properties only, so thank you very much to anyone who can explain this to me.

Hi

This may seem a silly question to ask but are your Water and Waste Sewage Carges part of your Council Tax or Seperately Paid in your area?

The reason I ask is in my area water and waste sewage rate are part of the council tax bill and if you get full council tax benefit or other discounts for your council tax you still have to pay the full water and sewage rate although it part of your council tax its classed as seperate and still has to be paid.

Also what you actually class as free months actually arent as you have already paid for those months whether you pay your bill in full or in installments

Yeah, I know they're not actually *free*, but both councils operate this method (10 annual payments) , and I actually moved here, to and from the same councils 2 years ago, on march 6th and never had any kind of backdated bill.

I just had my march annual bill like everyone else, which is why I am wondering why his is different.

No, the sewage and water charges are 100% certainly not part of CT payments.

If his CT was up to date where he used to live ie paid up for the year then he would be entitled to a refund for the same period his new Council wants. If within the same Council area then he could ask it be transferred to his new account with any balance either payable or refunded. Unfortunately with Council Tax you have to pay as demanded and if Benefits are then worked out you will either be credited or refunded on request. If he only pays what he thinks then the Council will go ahead with Court action.

PT

Ok, thank you for your help, I *think* I understand.

He would never wait and not pay it, it just seemed strange to me, since i'd been in the exact same circumstance, with same councils/time of year, and just started paying in April.

There has been no refund to his knowledge on the old account, but i'll him to chase it up on monday.

Thanks again..excellent forum by the way.

Council Tax is a daily charge, in that its calculated on the basis of each day a person lives at a property. But its collected by 10 monthly instalments, so if you've paid in full by January then move out after you should have 'x' amount of days worth of Council Tax back.

For Council Tax purposes there aren't free months so to speak.

The bill relates to full year, but it is normally payable by 10 instalments.

Example.

If annual Council tax bill was £1560, then this would work out at £130 per month.

However rather than set up a 12 month payment plan for £130 per month. Councils offer 10 month payment plans at £156 per month.

You therefore pay an extra £26 for the first 10 months, the extra payments you make in April through to January total £260 which cover the charge for February and March.

However if you move in Feb/Mar, you will be billed separately for period