Council Tax Single Occupancy reclaim?

andrew3939

hello all,
camden council have informed me that they will not rebate single occupancy even though my wife has moved to taiwan for the last 4 years (and taken up permanent residence) without proof of divorce which we are not proceeding with at the present time.
has anyone any experience or advice for this situation.
a

JimmyTheWig

Sounds similar to Februarycat above.
Ask them if a letter from a solicitor would be sufficient.
Also, is it worth seeing if a letter from a respectable professional (teacher, doctor, civil servant, etc - the sorts of people who can sign passport photos) would be enough for them? Would be cheaper than a solicitor!

mollymoo12

The regulations are quite clear - if a council has no reason to believe a discount or exemption should not apply, then they should grant it. It does not seem they have any reason to believe someone else has since lived in the property so they should backdate the SPD. If someone else was registered on the electoral role or claimed benefit from your address for instance, then I think it would be quite reasonable for the backdating to be refused. You can always appeal to the Valuation Office. I think the list they have of reasons for backdating is very restrictive and do not think it would pass the test of being seen to act in a reasonable manner.