Council Tax - chasing arrears after 4 years

alioops78

Hi All

My boyfriend has just received a letter stating that no council tax was paid by him, his then girlfriend and lodger in 2004. My boyfriend was a student at the time they are quoting so was exempt from paying council tax however they are now saying that all 3 of them are liable. We are still friends with the lodger so there won't be a problem approaching, however the ex-girlfriend is a completely different matter.

According to the letter they have sent a copy to all 3 of the then occupants advising that £400 needs to be repaid.

My question is this - if my boyfriend was a student at the time of the arrears, and registered with the council tax people as being a student, why is he now liable for paying it back?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Alioops

CIS

A F/T student is disregarded for Council Tax but in some circumstance they can still be held liable for the Council Tax due.

It depends on two points - was the debt before 01 April 2004 and who was the owner of the property ? In addition do they know he was a F/T student ?.

alioops78

CIS wrote: »

It depends on two points - was the debt before 01 April 2004 and who was the owner of the property ? In addition do they know he was a F/T student ?.

Thanks for your reply, I'm not too sure if it was prior to the 1 April 04 unfortunately. It's a rental property. They have on record his Student Certificate from that time. I have been talking to him as he's progressively trying to sort it this afternoon, luckily the lodger was available to go to the town hall to try and sort it out and we've managed to track down the address of his ex girlfriend.

Luckily the council have been quite understanding and put a hold on the reclaim until all information can be provided, however they are saying that another copy of his student certificate must be provided even though they have it all on record.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens from this stage.

Alioops

CIS

Prior to 01 April 2004 even a F/T student was jointly liable for all council tax due even if they were ordinarily disregarded.

After 01 April 2004 a student could not be held jointly liable for the Council Tax due unless he held a higher interest in the property than the other occupants. i.e if he was sole owner or the sole named tenant. If anyone else is a joint owner or named tenant who was not a student then they are responsible for any council tax owed.

The lodger at the time is not liable for any council tax.

If the student details are still held on file then there should be no need to re-request the details - I would raise this with them and ask for a manager if they cannot justify why.

Under Council Tax legislation a uni doesn't have to provide a student certificate after a period of 1 yr after a course has ended, IIRC. I've never heard of them refusing though so its still worth asking if necessary.

alioops78

Thank you once again, I really do appreciate your quick response

I will see what the actual letter says and clarify the need for the student certificate request again.

I will up date as I find out further information.

Thanks
Alioops