My partner keeps receiving a council tax bill for her previous flat which was her tenancy and in her name.

We live together now and are on a couples claim and are not liable to pay any council tax here as it is covered by the council tax support.

They are aware that she has moved from that address yet still keep sending a council tax bill to this address saying pay it for the old one.

They even send a letter with each bill stating that the reason her claim has been closed for that flat is because she has moved and needs to re-apply here which we have done ages ago.

I even wrote to them and said she has vacated the property in August and is therefore not liable for that address but they ignored it and sent another bill anyway.

How come they keep sending her a bill for the old property even though they are aware she has moved?

because they dont have the name of a new occupier so they keep hoping you are going to pay them. If it is social housing I would be telling the local housing office to the said flat that they arent keeping their colleaguesw updated properly and a complaint will be in the offing if it continues.

Hello there.

Your query doesn't seem to be about benefits, so I'll move you from this forum to the one about council tax and local authorities. I'll leave a temporary redirect from here for you to follow to the new forum.

My best, HB

Hi alpo287

To be able to advise you better could you lease answer the following:

1. Was the Tenancy for Housing Association/Council Housing or a Private Let?

2. What type of Tenancy Agreement did they have?

3. Did they end the Tenancy following the Termination/End of Tenancy procedure?

4. Did they inform the Council that they had moved on xx/xx/xx date and receive a Final Council Tax Bill?

Hi alpo287

 

To be able to advise you better could you lease answer the following:

 

1. Was the Tenancy for Housing Association/Council Housing or a Private Let?

2. What type of Tenancy Agreement did they have?

3. Did they end the Tenancy following the Termination/End of Tenancy procedure?

4. Did they inform the Council that they had moved on xx/xx/xx date and receive a Final Council Tax Bill?

Hi Stu

The flat was a council flat. The house we now live in is private landlord.

Not sure what kind of tenancy agreement it was, just a normal council one I think. She signed it when she moved in to the flat in 2007.

She went to the council office and signed 'notification to end tenancy' form and informed them moving out and gave them the date etc. They stamped it and she signed it.

Yes she informed them of the exact date she was moving out and they stamped and sent off the form I mentioned above. She never received a final council tax bill, just letters stating that her benefits (including council tax support) had been stopped for that address as she was moving out and needed to re-apply at new address.

They just keep sending out council tax bills to new address telling her to pay it for the old place. These are always accompanied by a letter stating that she has moved and needs to re-apply. That's what I don't get. If they know she vacated the property 2 months ago, why keep asking her to pay the council tax for it?

Mis-communication between benefits and council tax department.

Very common with local authorities this sort of behaviour and before you know your in court entirely because some incompetent employee(s) couldnt do their job(s) properly.

noddy has hit on the right word 'incompetent'. Make a formal complaint and address it to the head of the council.

have you checked the period that the bill relates to?

if she moved out of old property before end of tenancy, she may owe council tax for the period between moving and tenancy ending

alternatively, did she have any periods where she was not entitled to full CTB/CTR?

Hi alpo,

As id6052 suggests above this bill could be for a period between her moving out and her tenancy ending. The bill should show the dates of the period they believe she is liable for.

If the bill shows dates for a period she's not liable for, she should get to one of the councils customer service points taking the bills, a copy of the notice to quit (or receipt showing the date she signed it) and maybe a written statement explaining why she is not liable plus a letter of complaint. And make sure she gets a receipt. If the person she sees does their job properly they will flag this with the taxation dept to get it checked as a matter of urgency.

I know it seems to be a lot of hassle if she's not liable for the bill but unfortunately Council Tax like to issue court summons with no warning and then this could end up loads more hassle.

Hope this helps

Up2

Thanks for the replies. She phoned them up and the bill is indeed for the last 2 weeks or so of her tenancy as she left the property before tenancy was up.

if the property was empty and unfurnished, she may be entitled to a discount or an exemption for the 2 weeks

each LA has different rules as to how they treat empty and unfurnished properties, so you might want to check your LA's scheme and your bill