Council Tax. Council's powers to obtain information

Raggs_2

Barry_D wrote: »

Liable person identified
Dates have been identified and are shown on the bill.
Bill is incorrectly addressed.
Council will not amend the bill without sight of the tenancy agreement

In the event of non payment, what will happen will be that the council applies to the court for an order. The correspondence between me, tenant and council will be presented to the court by my solicitor, and my solicitor will then pursue a counter-claim for costs from the council.

It is unlikely that the court will uphold a claim for non payment when the liable person has been offering to pay all along but the council has refused to correct their own administrative error.

Meessing around? Me? I don't think so. the tenant and I have asked the council to do a simple task and they haven't.

How have the start and stop dates been identified?

terryw

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

Good for you Barry, I like a man of principle. Let them carry on sending bills to the wrong person. Why should the tenant pay anyone elses bill. Then, as principled as you are, once your tenant has left and they decide that the money owed is now the liability of the owner, you stick to your guns and pay them. Sounds like a plan to me. They won't care because they get paid. You're happy because you've stuck to your pointless principle. Everybody's happy. After all, what price can you put on a principle?

Well said Willie.

OP, You will find the water companies operate like this well.

Barry_D

Raggs wrote: »

I wonder just how much of this waste is caused by people playing silly !!!!!!s such as yourself.

Useful contribution! Read the original question.

Barry_D

Raggs wrote: »

How have the start and stop dates been identified?

The start date has already been notified to the council and the council have specified the correct start date on the bill.

Raggs_2

Barry_D wrote: »

The start date has already been notified to the council and the council have specified the correct start date on the bill.

You notified them by letter, perhaps this time the rules have changed slightly, or they want something more binding than your word. This could be due to several reasons. With council tax they tend to be happy when you are paying the full amount, but since this appears to be single occupancy, it will be reduced, to prove this is a big deal to them, your word alone is not sufficient.

Why are you so against just showing them a copy of your signature and hers on the tenancy agreement with the dates of occupancy shown? They know who you are, they know who she is, you're happy for them to know the dates, and everything else of consequence can be blanked out. What's the big deal?

princeofpounds

An incorrectly addressed bill doesn't alter the liability. It's a tax - you are liable for it whether 'correctly identified' or not - liability is not subject to invoicing.

Also, the courts generally hold that basic errors in invoicing and contracts are not excuses for avoiding liabilities. That's why you can't get out of contracts that misspell your name or address.

Just how bad is this 'mis-addressing'?

MissMoneypenny

clutton wrote: »

i cannot see any reason whatsoever why you would not tell the council who your new tenant is when they move in.... whats the problem ? Its part of handing over legal responsibility for the property to another person - it also protects the LL if a tenant does NOT contact the council, or if they try to give a false date for the beginning of their tenancy...

Agreed. When I moved out of the rented house, I wrote to the council and gave them the date I was moving out and the landlords name and address. I do the same when I sell a house too (date of completion and the new owners name/s). Its a safeguard to make sure that I don't get asked to pay someone elses bills.

Barry_D

Raggs wrote: »

You notified them by letter, perhaps this time the rules have changed slightly, or they want something more binding than your word. This could be due to several reasons. With council tax they tend to be happy when you are paying the full amount, but since this appears to be single occupancy, it will be reduced, to prove this is a big deal to them, your word alone is not sufficient.

A tenancy agreement doesn't verify that a tenant is who he or she says, or that he or she even lives at the address; other documentation however, such as a passport do provide valid ID, as does a photocard driving licence or an bona fide ID card. The tenancy agreement is not a reliable or valid form of identification.

Raggs_2

But I'm not talking about identification, I'm talking about start dates of the tenancy. Which a tenancy agreement does prove.

Barry_D

princeofpounds wrote: »

An incorrectly addressed bill doesn't alter the liability. It's a tax - you are liable for it whether 'correctly identified' or not - liability is not subject to invoicing.

Also, the courts generally hold that basic errors in invoicing and contracts are not excuses for avoiding liabilities. That's why you can't get out of contracts that misspell your name or address.

Just how bad is this 'mis-addressing'?

The liability isn't an issue and is not being avoided. If you get a bill in the name of Mrs Smith and your name is Mr Jones would you pay it immediately or would you ask for it to be correctly addressed before you pay it? This is what is happening with my tenant.