Hammersmith and Fulham council claim a property is empty and will force entry

[kennykenken]

Details of the letter received from Hammersmith and Fulham council:

"Empty property at address in Hammersmith and Fulham

Having send a number of letters by post and by hand, over the last 6-months, I am writing one last letter in order to try to get a response.

Should I fail to be contacted by anybody with an interest in the above property by 30 April 2014, my next course of action will be to serve a Notice of intended Entry (Local Government - Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. In bold red writing. Should this Notice also be ignored, I would then need to employ a locksmith in order to force entry into the property."

I'm not sure how common this is, but I received the above letter and it was addressed to, To Whom It May Concern from Hammersmith and Fulham council. If a letter is not addressed to me then I will always return it to the sender. I opened the letter by accident and it is important to note that the property is not empty as I have lived there for more than 2 years. I must have returned the previous letters which Hammersmith and Fulham council claim they sent.

When I moved into the property I registered to vote and for council tax. I don’t understand what Hammersmith and Fulham council motives are. Especially as this is a private dwelling which is not empty. I do not want to waste my valuable time with any of the cretins in Hammersmith and Fulham council, therefore what legal action should I take to stop them from entering my property under the guise that it is empty?

How do I deal with Hammersmith and Fulham council?

How do I stop Hammersmith and Fulham council from ever setting foot on my property again?

What does Hammersmith and Fulham council really want to do with my property?

 

 

[unclebulgaria67]

Phone the person at the council who have sent you the letter and provide them with your council tax reference number. They can then see that you are living at the property and are properly registered.

 

For your own record purposes, you should also send the council a letter stating that you are living at the address and again provide your council tax reference number.

 

This should resolve the problem. I expect that the council have put the wrong address on their letters.

[king12345]

Can they really enter a private property even if it's empty?

Or is this property council owned?

[unclebulgaria67]

Can they really enter a private property even if it's empty?

Or is this property council owned?

 

Yes I believe they can enter a private property in some circumstances, but they have to write giving notice, which they have done. Not sure what circumstances they would do this, but it could relate to issues affecting say a block of flats or row of houses, where there is going to be a compulsory purchase order or works nearby. For example, there may be a demolition of a nearby block of flats which on x date, for H&S reasons they need residents to leave their homes. If they have written to the address with no reply, they may want to access the property just to make sure no one is living there. There is probably a long list of potential reasons.

 

I think in this case, as they are collecting council tax, it is just a mistake of letters being sent to the wrong address.

[ericsbrother]

They want to take it over and rent it out as they believe it isnt being used. Blame fattty Prescott.

[kennykenken]

The property is private and has never been owned by the council. I've sent the "empty property officer" an email confirming that I pay the council tax with this months council tax receipt.

 

What else do they want from me?

[ericsbrother]

your house so they can fill it with their tenants and not have to pay you a commercial rent.