council trying to charge me two council taxes - help

corbs68

hi, i lived in a rental property and paid council tax until the day i left in june of last year, moving then into a new owned property and picking up a new council tax account from there. i notified the local authority (Canterbury city council) accordingly and there was no problem.
however the private landlord of the property i left has since notified the local authority to say my tenancy ran for a further four weeks (even though I no longer actually lived there and was under no tenancy contract as the previous one had expired a year previously). I presume the landlord did this is to avoid having to pay out for the period the property was empty.
the council are now asking me for a further 4 weeks of council tax (with no single occupancy discount i had before), overlaying the other account where i was actually living.
i have argued that i was not living there, had reregistered for a different address with them, was not under contract to my old address and have maintained continuous payments.
however they say the onus is on me to prove otherwise and they can demand the additional payment which is nearly £200!
help!

magpiecottage

Since it is clearly the same council for both, I suggest you complain to one of your local councillors (at the new address since they will want your vote next time they come up for election).

CIS

the council are now asking me for a further 4 weeks of council tax

Presumably the landlord has held you responsible for a months notice on the tenancy , if this is part of the tenancy terms then you liable for the council tax for this period. No single person discount can be given as you were not resident in the property.

dancingfairy

The day you left is irrelevant. The day that matters is the end of your tenant agreement. Your initial fixed term had expired so you would have been on a rolling tenancy and would have had to have given the correct notice in writing (1 month to conincide with your rental periods).
When you have worked out what date you are actually liable until (Which may or may not be the same as the day you left) then you can see whether you are entitled to any exemptions/discounts. Was the property empty and unfurnished? Did you council operate a discount for this at the time? If so you may be able to claim this.
How did you notify the council (email? letter?). This may help to prove your case. Anyway of proving the last day of your tenancy agreement?
The council won't know if you or the landlord is liable, it's 50:50 to be honest until/unless someone can prove the end of a tenancy.
You just need to convince them somehow that the tenancy had actually ended. The suggestion of contacting your councillor is a good one.
I hope you get it sorted.
df

[Deleted User]

corbs68 wrote: »

hi, i lived in a rental property and paid council tax until the day i left in june of last year, moving then into a new owned property and picking up a new council tax account from there. i notified the local authority (Canterbury city council) accordingly and there was no problem.
however the private landlord of the property i left has since notified the local authority to say my tenancy ran for a further four weeks (even though I no longer actually lived there and was under no tenancy contract as the previous one had expired a year previously). I presume the landlord did this is to avoid having to pay out for the period the property was empty.
the council are now asking me for a further 4 weeks of council tax (with no single occupancy discount i had before), overlaying the other account where i was actually living.
i have argued that i was not living there, had reregistered for a different address with them, was not under contract to my old address and have maintained continuous payments.
however they say the onus is on me to prove otherwise and they can demand the additional payment which is nearly £200!
help!

So what's the issue with you proving otherwise? :huh:

Single occupancy discount only applies to your main residence, which is presumably the new address you notified the council of.