Hi CAG readers,

I need some assistance on this issue.

I have a flat which I rented out while I was caring for my elderly mother. Enfield Council have just sent me a Summons to attend court on the 3/5/12 relating to unpaid Council Tax for the whole of 11/12. I had tenants in the flat until the end of Feb 2012. Their tenancy agreement (which I have) clearly states that they are liable to pay council tax. The whole flat was let out to one person, who then moved in with his girlfriend.

The tenants have now moved back to France and I am trying to contact them and pass on the information that they have unpaid Council Tax to pay. They were in the property for the past 3 years and actually racked up 3 yrs of arrears despite me informing the council when they moved in of the new tenants (when they sent a wrongly addressed letter to the property - I filled the new tenant info on the back of the envelope and sent it back). This is the first of 3 years summons requests that they are demanding from me.

I have the tenancy agreements and cash receipts/Direct debit payments that were made into my hand/bank account for the whole period (past 3 years) which can prove that the flat was validly rented. The Council have just sent payment requests for the previous two years, I guess that will!

I called the Summons line today and the lady stated that there is nothing I can do, I need to make an arrangement on the disputed amounts asap, before the case goes to court as they will seek a liability order and due to the amount of arrears, bankruptcy. I told her about the proof that I had that I was not resident there and she said it is too late now to provide that information. She tried to put the fear of Lucifer into me and it worked.

Should I go to the council offices asap with my evidence (1) or present it at court?

Very worried :|

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance companeros

Hi,

The Magistrates Court is unable to enquire into who is responsible for paying an amount, and are only interested in whether the correct procedures have been carried out and if the amount remains outstanding. You should try and get the council to withdraw the summons or if they won't apply to the court for an adjournment so things can be sorted out.

Matters concerning liability to pay are dealt with by a court called the 'Valuation Tribunal' however you need to go through the council first as they have 2 months to make a decision before you can appeal.

You should email the manager in change of the council tax administration team and the recovery team, providing as much information regarding the tenants as you can with a copy of the tenancy agreement. They can not tell you that your too late with your proof as there are no legal time limits for billing and collection of council tax, and they can not lawful charge you for a period where you were no responsible. It seems their shirking there responsibility as it would be too much work to chase up the tenants in another country.

Hope this helps!

If you were living with your mother, were you on the electoral roll at her address during the 3 year period?

Thanks for your replies.

Yes, I was on the electoral roll in Brent. Should I take that to the Council Office too?

Evidence of where you have been living may be useful, according to council tax law an individual can only have one 'sole or main residence' at any point in time.

I would advise taking evidence that your main residence was at Brent, plus evidence that property was tenanted