Council tax band Q excemption..............

CIS

Also, is Class L really appropriate when someone is BR? Surely the BR trumps all and Class Q should be used.

My comments about the Class L where in respect of a re-possession.

Also, is Class L really appropriate when someone is BR? Surely the BR trumps all and Class Q should be used.

At any one time no particular exemption trumps another when there is more than one exemption which could be applied. The council are right to award a 6 month Class C exemption for the first 6 months (they'd also be right to award the relevant Class L or Q) and after the Class C to then again look at whether any other exemption is required. After the 6 months they need to re-assess which exemption if applicable and award the one which applies at that stage.

Leesmom

CIS wrote: »

My comments about the Class L where in respect of a re-possession.



At any one time no particular exemption trumps another when there is more than one exemption which could be applied. The council are right to award a 6 month Class C exemption for the first 6 months (they'd also be right to award the relevant Class L or Q) and after the Class C to then again look at whether any other exemption is required. After the 6 months they need to re-assess which exemption if applicable and award the one which applies at that stage.

Thankyou again for all the information it's good to know it from the other side's perspective, and it is entirely possible that in 6 months time my council will award me exemption class Q, however at no time was this mentioned and it certainly does not state it in the letter i recieved, only that i will be liable to pay 100% of the council tax at that time.

It also does not explain why so many ARE being charged council tax on rep'od proprties after the 6 months have expired, you can see why i draw the conclusion that the councils are profiteering from peoples lack of knowledge on this subject.

kepar

t also does not explain why so many ARE being charged council tax on rep'od proprties after the 6 months have expired, you can see why i draw the conclusion that the councils are profiteering from peoples lack of knowledge on this subject.

Where are you getting these facts from???????????????????

Ineedaname

Kepar - the advice on the forum recently has been to apply for exemption for 6 months and then after that the BR will be liable for full council tax again. Obviously these other class exemptions weren't known about or the advice would have been different.

Leesmom - I suspect you'll have to re-apply for exemption at about 5 months, I doubt the council will automatically do anything for you.

debtinfo

Ineedaname wrote: »

. Obviously these other class exemptions weren't known about or the advice would have been different.

These come round every so often, along with the debate, if you look back far enough you will see that they have been thoroughly discussed. I will wait and see what the OP's council comes back and says as i have an inkling that it wont be easy as thought, lets wait and see

CIS

Kepar - the advice on the forum recently has been to apply for exemption for 6 months and then after that the BR will be liable for full council tax again. Obviously these other class exemptions weren't known about or the advice would have been different.

They're not secret - any council website will have a list of available discounts and exemptions. The exemptions have been around since 1993 or shortly after.

Leesmom

I apologize for not updating and letting you all know the outcome sooner, but was on holiday and have also moved into our first rented accomodation since repo.

I never did recieve an email regarding the excemption nor a reason why it was not classified as band Q considering i had and offered all the releveant information on the day of my enquiry.

However i did go into the local council office to set up payments for council tax on the new property and inquired about my email regarding the exemption band, the lady checked her system and found my repo'd property was now logged as band Q instead of band C, she actually showed me her computer screen as way of proof!

When i enquired why it was not done on the day as i had all relevant paper work with me and offered it up on the day, she simply said that is possible the person i saw made an error and was not aware of all the exemption bands, which i guess is entirely possible?

Anyway i asked for confirmation in writing and recieved it yesterday and am happy to confirm that band Q has definately been awarded, so i have no further liability towards council tax on that property.

I don't know and probably will never know for sure if my council would have tried to charge me 100% of council tax on my repo'd property after 6 months, all i was saying is i know there was people here who was charged for their repo'd properties, and at the end of the day you all have nothing to loose by questioning your local councils decision about the banding and exemptions should you find yourself lumbered with a band C exemption.
Like i said before knowledge is power!:T

Ineedaname

That's brilliant news, thank you so much for the update.:T

kepar

Ineedaname wrote: »

Kepar - the advice on the forum recently has been to apply for exemption for 6 months and then after that the BR will be liable for full council tax again. Obviously these other class exemptions weren't known about or the advice would have been different.

Leesmom - I suspect you'll have to re-apply for exemption at about 5 months, I doubt the council will automatically do anything for you.

INAN, sorry I have just caught up with this again, can you show the posts that you are referring to. I read this forum most days and cannot remember this sort of advice being given.

HeatherA

this is really interesting. My son went bankrupt in May this year. He hasn't lived at the property since February 2010 and no-one lives there or has lived there since February this year. There was an exemption on the property as it was unfurnished and that has now come to an end and now the Council are asking for 50% council tax. He already pays Council Tax for the property he is renting so paying for the empty property too would mean he'd be paying twice.

He asked the Official Receiver's Office if he had to pay this and at first they said no and he wrote to the Council to say when he had become bankrupt and that there was no-one living at the property and that he had been advised by the OR's office that he should not pay Council Tax. They wrote back and said his Bankruptcy meant he would only be not liable for any Council Tax debts up to the date of bankruptcy and not afterwards. As he didn't owe anything in Council Tax at the time of his bankruptcy and was up-to-date at that point and, in fact, was exempted because of there being no furniture in the property, this was irrelevant anyway.

He got back in contact with the OR's office and sent a copy of the letter from the Council Tax Office and the reply was that he had to pay it even though he had been told previously by the OR's office that he didn't have to pay it.

Does the property need to have been repossessed to Claim Class Q exemption or is it sufficient that no-one is living there and my son, as one of the owners, is bankrupt? I'd really appreciate an answer to this as when I rang the Council on son's behalf on Friday, and asked if he should be exempt due to his bankruptcy and the property being empty and even quoted Class Q, they said no.