council tax hell

[andy8]

Hi everyone,

 

Please help if you can

 

I was handed a letter today from a lady who knows me, We live in a small village and the lady lives at my old property,

 

It was for a council tax bill that i owe ( Apparently ) I split from my girlfriend a few years ago and so moved into a rented property and payed a £1000 bond , I got back with my gf after about 6 weeks but was still into a 6mnth contract on the house, when i asked could i terminate the contract i was told no and if i did not pay the rent every mnth then she would take me to court and also lose the bond so decided to keep paying for the remaining mnths and got my bond back

 

Well like i said now i have this letter saying that i owe concil tax for £540 for the 6mnths, I called the no on the letter and explained that i had not lived there for 5mnths of the 6 and that i was also a single guy so should of at least had a discount, I was told i had to pay the full ammount now as it has been 2yrs

 

Can they make me pay for the time i was not living there as my gf was paying full council tax at our place as this letter now says unless i pay they will issue a summons for my comital to prison

 

Thanks

[id6052]

you could apply for a second home discount on the rented property, think level of discount can vary depending upon the council, but it is a 10% discount in my area

[andy8]

but im still liable even tho i was not living there?

[dx100uk]

no send them proof

 

dx

[id6052]

as you held a tenancy agreement which was for 6 months or more, i believe the council treated you as having a beneficial interest in the property and therefore you remain liable for the council tax bill

 

am not sure who else you think might be liable to pay the council tax for the property?

[ploddertom]

Is the letter from Council or Bailiffs?

[ims21]

Two threads merged

 

Please keep to one thread per issue

 

ims

[andy8]

Is the letter from Council or Bailiffs?

 

Letter is council , What proof can i send them as i dont live at the property with my gf anymore, We have moved

[andy8]

as you held a tenancy agreement which was for 6 months or more, i believe the council treated you as having a beneficial interest in the property and therefore you remain liable for the council tax bill

 

am not sure who else you think might be liable to pay the council tax for the property?

 

 

The Owner of the property or the letting agents but not me as i only lived there for just over a mnth, Quite happy to pay my time there but only kept the rent going as not to get thrown into court and lose my bond

[id6052]

if your tenancy had been terminated, liability would have reverted to the owner

 

if you had been able to get someone else to move in or take over tenancy, liability would have passed to new resident

 

but unfortunately as neither of these seem to have occurred, liability remains with you because although you chose not to occupy the property, you could have occupied it

[andy8]

so what the single person discount from the £540 i will recieve ?

[id6052]

you would get the single person discount of 25% for the period you were resident

 

however you would only get the second home discount for periods you were not resident - what council's area is property in?

[andy8]

rhondda cynnon taff

[id6052]

your local council does not allow any discount on second homes, so the effect is:

 

for the first month when you were living apart, you would each get 25% discount on both properties (assuming neither of you had a ny other adults living in properties)

 

for the remaining 5 months when you were both living in one propertt, you are liable for the full charge for both properties (with no discounts)

 

this means that you would be better off for council tax purposes if you had lived apart for the full 6 months

[DebMc]

Hi, when you moved out of the rented property after one month, did you move all of your furniture out?

 

My local council do not charge council tax on empty property for a period of up to six months so it may be worth checking to see if your council have similar rules.

[andy8]

It was a furnished house by the owner, I never had anything to move out, Just my clothes and so on, So there was nothing belonging to myself in the house after the fisrt month

[DebMc]

That's a shame. It was worth a shot. It's a pity that your council don't give a discount for second homes or single occupancy to reduce your liability.