Proving you NO longer own a property?

ellie1379

Apologies if this is on the wrong board.

My husband has just received a letter from the council asking for council tax payment due on a second home.

The address stated is a house that he used to own with 2 friends and sold around 7 years ago. We currently own only one property that we live in.

After calling the council to explain they said that they need proof that my husband and friends no longer own the house as they have the current owners down as tenants.

Unfortunately we can not find any paperwork from the sale. I have looked on the Land Registry website but the example PDF showing who owns a property doesnt state the date the property sold.

Should this be enough for the council? They are not being particularly helpful in stating what documents they would want to see.

Is there a document that you can get to prove that you sold a property or one that proves who does in fact own it along with dates?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Wanton

Which council is it?

Can you write to them and ask them to provide proof that your husband still owns the property?

ellie1379

Its Hertfordshire Council. They said they wanted to know who currently owned the property and seem to be making out that it is our responsibility to find out.
We looked online and can see that it has been recently re sold so dont have any idea who that would be!

WestonDave

That is probably just an example image which is incomplete - for the couple of quid it costs, downloading a copy of the current title document should resolve the issue as I'm pretty sure it will show the date that owner acquired it - although it does rather sound like guilty until proven innocent so I'd be sending it in with a formal complaint about their attitude! The other thing to do is have a word with your local councillor about their approach as usually a councillor getting involved takes priority over most other work!

Mojisola

Wanton wrote: »

Can you write to them and ask them to provide proof that your husband still owns the property?

WestonDave wrote: »

it does rather sound like guilty until proven innocent so I'd be sending it in with a formal complaint about their attitude!

I don't think I'd try to prove I didn't own it.

I would reply giving the date that he sold the house.

They can go to the LR site and pay for the ownership papers if they want to know who owns it!

ellie1379

Thank you for your replies. It does seem a little unfair that we have to do all the leg work!
Will write to them with dates and hope that is the end if it!

G_M

1) the onus of proof is surely on the council to prove he does own it

2) the Land Registry title £3) will show the name of current owner

3) if the Title does not show date sold, contact the Land Registry help line - for a small fee I am sure they will confirm date the Title changed hands.

4) I'm amazed - if you did the conveyancing yourself, how could you not have kept the paperwork?? :eek: That indicates a laxitude that implies perhaps DIY conveyancing was a bad idea. If you used a solicitor, he will have the paperwork!

googler

As G_M says - who did the conveyancing for you? Consult them for any records they may have of the transaction. Which EA sold it for you? Consult them for any records.

etc
etc

ellie1379

Thank you googler, I had not realised that the solicitor would have the records as well.
Will look into that if the letter to the council does not work.

Land_Registry

The copy of the register that you have already obtained should show the date that the current owners were registered. Assuming that the current owners are the ones your husband sold the property to this ought to be enough to show that (a) he is no longer the owner and (b) when this happened. I should explain however that the registration date will not be the date that the property was sold to them. This is because there is normally a gap between completion of the sale and the registration application being made to us by the solicitors who acted for the buyers, usually no more than a week or two. But as I say, this should not be an issue in proving what you need to prove. But if the Council do want more precise information, you can apply for a copy of the transfer deed and, if needed, a copy of the edition of the register when your husband was the owner. Here is a link to some guidance on the information that we hold in case you need it: http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/faqs/what-information-can-i-get-from-land-registry