Bailiffs right to enter? Please advise!

pinkshoes

Given the letter says "3" and not "3A", is it possible the council tax debt is from before the house was split into 3 flats? When was it split? Do each of the 3 flats have a separate CT bill? Does the council know that it's 3 flats? (or is the LL being naughty paying CT for one when he's split it into 3??).

Have you phoned the council to enquire whether the council tax has been paid? The council WILL start action for unpaid CT, so you really should speak to them and see what they say.

RobertoMoir

As Herbie says, even if the bailiff reckons they have the right to enter some theoretical address "3, contrived example lane", this by no means gives them the right to enter seperate flats that just happen to share part of that address.

Britman

pinkshoes wrote: »

Given the letter says "3" and not "3A", is it possible the council tax debt is from before the house was split into 3 flats? When was it split? Do each of the 3 flats have a separate CT bill? Does the council know that it's 3 flats? (or is the LL being naughty paying CT for one when he's split it into 3??).

Have you phoned the council to enquire whether the council tax has been paid? The council WILL start action for unpaid CT, so you really should speak to them and see what they say.

Well itls been flats for over 10 years and AFAIK the council is aware, then send inspectors round each year. I haven't contacted the council as yet.

maninthesouth

I would suggest that the non-co-operation as suggested in some posts is not the correct course of action in this case. Speak to the bailiff and have some form of identity ready for each occupant if necessary (such as passports) and thus prove beyond any doubt that the person that is named on the liability order is not now present. It should then be returned to the council as a gone away and for them to tace the current whereabouts.

If you are not the person named - don't worry. You must appreciate however, that not everyone tells the truth about their identities and the bailiff has probably encountered incidents of false identities numerous times and therefore he or she has to be fully satisfied et., and the best way of doing this is to communicate with them on the doorstep

RobertoMoir

maninthesouth wrote: »

I would suggest that the non-co-operation as suggested in some posts is not the correct course of action in this case. Speak to the bailiff and have some form of identity ready for each occupant if necessary (such as passports) and thus prove beyond any doubt that the person that is named on the liability order is not now present. It should then be returned to the council as a gone away and for them to tace the current whereabouts.

If you are not the person named - don't worry. You must appreciate however, that not everyone tells the truth about their identities and the bailiff has probably encountered incidents of false identities numerous times and therefore he or she has to be fully satisfied et., and the best way of doing this is to communicate with them on the doorstep

Uh... while co-operating with the bailiff is often the simplest way to solve the problem of one standing on your doorstep looking for someone who doesn't live there, let's be clear about this:

You have the right to some privacy. They have to be sure beyond reasonable doubt that the debtor lives there. It's up to them to prove that someone is the debtor they are looking for, not for everyone and anyone they encounter to prove that they are not the debtor.

This is especially true if you consider that none of these flats are the actual address they have been given for the debtor. If they were sent to a house with an address of "3 contrived example lane, exampletown", would they have the right to knock on the door of every house in contrived example lane that had a number "3" in the address and demand people prove who they were?

Of course not.

CIS

Will the court just class it as one house as it appears on the council tax?

You need to check if the Valuation Office have it as 3 separate properties or not (check for free at https://www.voa.gov.uk). If its banded as 1 property then it sounds like it would come under HMO rules and the L/L would be the liable person.

If it is banded as 3 separate properties then Council Tax is legally the responsibility of the tenant (regardless of any personal agreement with the L/L) and you may find that the L/L is being chased for a council tax bill which should be in your name.

Well itls been flats for over 10 years and AFAIK the council is aware, then send inspectors round each year. I haven't contacted the council as yet.

We have properties which have been split for years before anyone has found out and the Valuation Office have officaly re-banded them.