Council Tax. Council's powers to obtain information

MissMoneypenny

Barry_D wrote: »

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.

What's the problem?

Tenant can just write to council saying that the name on the bill is wrong: state their correct name/s and enclose the tenancy agreement as proof of the date they moved in. The councils' see loads of tenancy agreements.

Barry_D

Raggs wrote: »

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

The dates aren't in dispute - never have been. The dates are irrelevant. The council has the date right. What they have wrong is the name, and sex, of the tenant!

pawpurrs

When I moved the electricity board would not change the agreement in to my name without sight of a tennancy agreement, this was because the previous owner owed thousands, and pressumably I could just be ringing pretending I had just moved in, although how it proves otherwise, I dont know, any one can download a tennancy agreement form the tinternet!
I cant see the problem with it, they wont be using it for any other purpose or cross referencing it with other agancys, and surely its up to the tennant if they are happy for the agreement to be seen by the council not you?
To be honest it will just cause you more issues. I know how pedantic they can be, but hey. Non payment of council tax can end up in a prision sentance, not like normal debt, so I would just get over it!

Barry_D

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

What's the problem?

Tenant can just write to council saying that the name on the bill is wrong: state their correct name/s and enclose the tenancy agreement as proof of the date they moved in. The councils' see loads of tenancy agreements.

...and if the building has been sub-let without agreement (in my case, it hasn't) then what?

As I have already said, the parties to the tenancy agreement may not always identify the liable person, so the tenancy agreement is not a valid or reliable form of ID...

mynameisdave

OK OK OK OK

Don't give them any information.

Someone will pay it. You or the tenant. The council don't care. Someone WILL pay it.

If the council can't establish who was licing there to their satisfaction then they will bill you (the might try the last tenant but I gues they will be able to show they live elsewhere so that chase will end quickly).

mynameisdave

Barry_D wrote: »

...and if the building has been sub-let without agreement (in my case, it hasn't) then what?

As I have already said, the parties to the tenancy agreement may not always identify the liable person, so the tenancy agreement is not a valid or reliable form of ID...

Maybe they want to establish what type of tenancy exists to make sure the right person is being billed?

How is the tenant claiming liability reliable? Who is to say the person claiming liability is the tenant?

Maybe the tenant is wrong in their belief they are reliable.

I know the public sector has a reputation for being inefficient but it doesnt help that they are obstructed when trying to do their job properly.

ILW

As your brother the QC is on holiday, I would pay his fair back and then pay him £3 or £400 per hour to sort this out, as it is obviously very very important to you.

Alternatively you could just show the council a copy of the tenancy agreement.

clutton_2

Court ?????

if you get to court.. there will be no long witness statements, no looking at correspondence... council tax defaulters just get rubber stamped ... done deal.... courts dont waste time on such nonsense as this.. AND you will be responsible for court fees and legal costs.. how dumb are you ??

never have a read such a ridiculously anal waste of time and energy as this thread...

i suggest we stop feeding him by refusing to engage any more with this insane nonsense....

Wee_Willy_Harris

clutton wrote: »

Court ?????

if you get to court.. there will be no long witness statements, no looking at correspondence... council tax defaulters just get rubber stamped ... done deal.... courts dont waste time on such nonsense as this.. AND you will be responsible for court fees and legal costs.. how dumb are you ??

never have a read such a ridiculously anal waste of time and energy as this thread...

i suggest we stop feeding him by refusing to engage any more with this insane nonsense....

Slightly OT, I know, but I was sure "anal" would be !!!!'d on here. At least I've got something useful out of this thread!

Barry_D

ILW wrote: »

As your brother the QC is on holiday, I would pay his fair back and then pay him £3 or £400 per hour to sort this out, as it is obviously very very important to you.

Alternatively you could just show the council a copy of the tenancy agreement.

As it happens we don't bill each other; workloads permitting, we allocate sufficient chunks of time to help each other out on different projects. I am a planning consultant and when I am not appointed directly to a case as expert witness, I provide expert advice to him for free. It works both ways.

An answer to the original question is important to me, yes, but so far, only one response has come close and that was with a piece of legislation that I am already aware of.