Liable for council tax after move

rexmedorum

Yet another unexpected cost to my move: My council says that I ave to pay coulcil tax until my (rental) contract expires, regardless of when I move out. Previous councils have only ever asked me about date of moving out, not about the end of the contract.

Am I being done over?

Mrs_Arcanum

Seems a bit odd, as I am sure the council tax will be charged from the day you move in to your new place.

slyracoon

Yes you are liable for council tax until the end of your contract even if you move out before the end.

Having said that though, most councils will not charge for periods that the property is empty (upto a maximum of 6 months normally).

gingertips

I had same with Horsham council - queried it with them and yes I was responsible right up to contract end date...had to pay for 2 properties. crooks

rexmedorum

slyracoon wrote: »

Yes you are liable for council tax until the end of your contract even if you move out before the end.

Having said that though, most councils will not charge for periods that the property is empty (upto a maximum of 6 months normally).

right wel MK certainly does

westv

I'm sure that, when I moved out of my last place a couple of weeks before the tenancy expired I didn't have to pay for those two weeks. I'll have a check to see what I can find although I probably don't have anything anymore as it would have been done over the phone.

G_M

If you have an ongoing tenancy then you are responsible for all the associated bills - irrespective of whether you live there, are away on holiday, or move out.

westv

westv wrote: »

I'm sure that, when I moved out of my last place a couple of weeks before the tenancy expired I didn't have to pay for those two weeks. I'll have a check to see what I can find although I probably don't have anything anymore as it would have been done over the phone.

I can't find anything in writing but it was Chelmsford council. The property was unfurnished and I paid up to the date I left - including all other bills. My CT liability with the new property started on the day I moved in.
I can't believe that different councils have different rules for this sort of thing.

Edit: For CT I think it all boils down to whether the place is furnished or not.

Pigletto

Yes, unfurnished properties can get an exemption of up to 6 months. However, furnished properties cannot.

But this is not really about the Council it's about the landlord and the tenancy agreement. As G_M says if you sign a tenancy agreement then you are liable for bills for that period including Council Tax.

The only ways round it is:

unfurnished - apply for exemption
ask the landlord if they will pay it - highly unlikley they would agree to this though
new tenants move in quickly in which case they will become liable for the Council Tax and other bills

westv

Pigletto wrote: »

Yes, unfurnished properties can get an exemption of up to 6 months. However, furnished properties cannot.

But this is not really about the Council it's about the landlord and the tenancy agreement. As G_M says if you sign a tenancy agreement then you are liable for bills for that period including Council Tax.

The only ways round it is:

unfurnished - apply for exemption
ask the landlord if they will pay it - highly unlikley they would agree to this though
new tenants move in quickly in which case they will become liable for the Council Tax and other bills

Well I can only relate what I did. I advised Chelmsford council of the date I moved out, the date the tenancy ended and the fact that the property was unfurnished (all done via their online form). They only charged me up to the date of departure and I didn't need to do anything else.

Pigletto

westv wrote: »

Well I can only relate what I did. I advised Chelmsford council of the date I moved out, the date the tenancy ended and the fact that the property was unfurnished (all done via their online form). They only charged me up to the date of departure and I didn't need to do anything else.

Who was arguing with you? I was only making it clear to the op that yes they can apply for an exemption if the property is unfurnished however, there are no exemptions for empty properties that are furnished.