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Hi i am currently letting my cousin stay in my property - he only pays enough money to cover bills virgin, tv licence, water etc when he first moved in i rang council tax and told them his name but that i would be paying it still they said that was ok. It was anticipated that he would only be there for a short while unfortunately he has since had a child for whom he now has sole responsibility however he remains a single person so would be entitled to 25% discount which is what i am claiming although it is my name. I have now received a card asking me to contact council tax to arrange a meeting to discuss the council tax. I am now really worried that i might end up going to court etc and with a criminal record which will effect my work.

Incidently he is moving out in 3 weeks i can only imagine that the council think we are living as a couple which we are most definitely not as i am staying with my boyfriend and only allowed my cousin to stay to be kind.

So i am thinking that i may well be in big trouble for not telling them that i no longer live at the property even though i rang and asked them. My bank account and everything is still at this address as i wish to return there in 3 weeks.

Please can anyone help. :( By the way i claim no other benefits wftc i stopped them when i started staying at my boyfriends.

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Failure to pay Council Tax is a civil matter.

 

You may be asked to repay the 25% discount for a period if the council decide that there are/were 2 people with their main residence at your property.

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If that is the worst scenario then that is ok, although as there was only ever one adult it shouldnt apply. Do you think i am over reacting regarding cautions, prison etc my worst thing is that i didnt change the name over surely that wouldnt warrant such extreme action. Thankyou for replying :)

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I think that would be the worst scenario because you haven't avoided paying your council tax.

 

I am a lone parent and got my 25% single persons discount for many years, then I didnt realise but when My eldest son turned 18 I lost my single persons discount which put me in arrears.

 

My son was classed as a second adult in the home, so I was not a single person anymore in the household even though he was at college and had no income.

 

Its a craaaazzzy world! I think council tax only gets really bad when no payments are made.

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You may end up with a refund, and your cousin with a bill (as he should technically be the council tax-payer), but as there would be no overall change they may be happy to let things stand as it is.

 

The only real time a council tax matters goes to court is for non-payment and you should have a few months to sort things out before it ever gets to that stage. (A criminal prosecution for Theft is theoretically possible, but extremely unlikely, if you purposefully went out of your way to claim a discount for financial advantage which you knew you weren't entitled to, but I've never heard of this happening.)

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Thankyou Revshelp, I haven't gained anything financially and the council haven't lost anything as they only ever would of been entitled to what i have been paying. I think i have just worked myself up into a tizz because i have read so many horror stories about fraud, council tax benefit and prison so perhaps i need to chill especially as i know the council are paid up to date with everything they are owed. I have emailed the council and told them i do not live in the property and have given them my new address and that someone is currently staying in the property as my guest. Do you think i will be ok at that ?

Thanks again

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I have contacted the council who have said they will issue me with a new bill to pay 90% of the tax due, haven't mentioned my cousin as he will be out in 2 weeks so am i allowed to have a guest stay whilst paying 90% of bill. It would be even cheaper as he is single but don't want to mess about changing it again in 2 weeks - hope this makes sense. Do i still have to contact the number on the blue inspection notice card which states your discount may be stopped if you do not contact us or shall i leave it now that i have changed my details?

 

Thanks

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Hi there, from the sounds of it the council are treating your property as a Second Home, with a 10% discount, as your living elsewhere. I would imagine they the inspection would be to check if the property was unfurnished (in which case you could have had a 100% exemption).

 

Obviously you/your cousin would be entitled to a 25% discount if there was only one person who had their main or only home at the property.

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  • 2 months later...

The words single person discount are misleading.

 

I think that would be the worst scenario because you haven't avoided paying your council tax.

 

I am a lone parent and got my 25% single persons discount for many years, then I didnt realise but when My eldest son turned 18 I lost my single persons discount which put me in arrears.

 

My son was classed as a second adult in the home, so I was not a single person anymore in the household even though he was at college and had no income.

 

As it happens the words 'single person discount' do not appear in any law. They are a nickname which misleads a great many people. The discount applies when one 'countable' adult has their sole or main residence at the dwelling.

 

If your son was a full time college student he did not count as a 'resident' as students are what they call 'disregarded'.

 

If he had no income, then you would probably be entitled either to a second adult rebate (which amounts to the same sum of money) or perhaps to some benefit.

 

 

 

Its a craaaazzzy world! I think council tax only gets really bad when no payments are made.

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The words single person discount are misleading.

 

I think that would be the worst scenario because you haven't avoided paying your council tax.

 

I am a lone parent and got my 25% single persons discount for many years, then I didnt realise but when My eldest son turned 18 I lost my single persons discount which put me in arrears.

 

My son was classed as a second adult in the home, so I was not a single person anymore in the household even though he was at college and had no income.

 

 

Its a craaaazzzy world! I think council tax only gets really bad when no payments are made.

 

As it happens the words 'single person discount' do not appear in any law. They are a nickname which misleads a great many people. The discount applies when one 'countable' adult has their sole or main residence at the dwelling.

 

If your son was a full time college student he did not count as a 'resident' as students are what they call 'disregarded'.

 

If he had no income, then you would probably be entitled either to a second adult rebate (which amounts to the same sum of money) or perhaps to some benefit.

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