Unfair council tax threats

Bobdylan

Hi all, I've got a bit of a council tax problem and was hoping to get some advice..

The situation is that a friend and I rented a flat from our landlord (estate agent) the flat was unfurnished and by the time it came around to finishing the furnishing to have it in a liveable state we where both assigned abroad.

So I subleased my part of the flat to my then fianc!, she paid a peppercorn amount of rent and I paid the rest, and I moved abroad. She filled in the council tax forms whilst I was there and submitted it with her student letter - making her exempt for council tax.

Now that me and my fianc! have parted ways, she's informed me that I have a court summons and owe £2036.

I've been emailing the council tax people and explaining that I subleased the flat to her with the contract between us and that I was not longer the tenant in occupation - I merely paid the rent with her contribution and my former flat mates contribution, just before he moved out, than I paid the full amount as I wanted to keep a hold of the property for her and my return.

They've contacted my landlord asking about who pays the rent, which is me - I've always paid the rent on the property even when my old flatmate was around. The landlord contacted me saying that the council had contacted them asking for details, mentioning that he didn't agree to a sublease (which he did orally over the phone and when i pressed him about it, he went quiet, as he knew he was lying or his memory was giving way- I may also have an email trail of him agreeing. But that's an issue between the estate agent and me - not the council.. Right?)

So what do I do? I haven't lived in the property for over 14 months and would like to go back to it although I'm faced with a £2000+ bill .. I don't understand why there not getting a hold of my ex-fianc! or my former flatmate.. There just threatening me.

Urgent advice would be appreciated as it's really unfair to pay for other peoples debt

sandsni

Do you have written proof of the contract between you and your ex? If not, you'll unfortunately have a hard time proving anything. You rented the flat from your LL, with all the responsibilities that entails, and you chose to sub-let. Therefore the problem with the council tax is between you and your ex and the council, not the LL.

45002

Bobdylan wrote:

Hi all, I've got a bit of a council tax problem and was hoping to get some advice..

The situation is that a friend and I rented a flat from our landlord (estate agent) the flat was unfurnished and by the time it came around to finishing the furnishing to have it in a liveable state we where both assigned abroad.

So I subleased my part of the flat to my then fianc!, she paid a peppercorn amount of rent and I paid the rest, and I moved abroad. She filled in the council tax forms whilst I was there and submitted it with her student letter - making her exempt for council tax.

Now that me and my fianc! have parted ways, she's informed me that I have a court summons and owe £2036.

I've been emailing the council tax people and explaining that I subleased the flat to her with the contract between us and that I was not longer the tenant in occupation - I merely paid the rent with her contribution and my former flat mates contribution, just before he moved out, than I paid the full amount as I wanted to keep a hold of the property for her and my return.

They've contacted my landlord asking about who pays the rent, which is me - I've always paid the rent on the property even when my old flatmate was around. The landlord contacted me saying that the council had contacted them asking for details, mentioning that he didn't agree to a sublease (which he did orally over the phone and when i pressed him about it, he went quiet, as he knew he was lying or his memory was giving way- I may also have an email trail of him agreeing. But that's an issue between the estate agent and me - not the council.. Right?)

So what do I do? I haven't lived in the property for over 14 months and would like to go back to it although I'm faced with a £2000+ bill .. I don't understand why there not getting a hold of my ex-fianc! or my former flatmate.. There just threatening me.

Urgent advice would be appreciated as it's really unfair to pay for other peoples debt

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?60661-Council-tax-problems

jjlandlord

I'm doubting very much that court summons would be the first you would hear about the issue.
A few letters probably went ignored.

In any case, I think (I am not a lawyer) that your defence must be that (a) you were not resident but (b) someone else was, and that as such as per section 6 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 you were not liable for the council tax.
You need convincing evidence of both (a) and (b).

The reason I underlined 'both' is that if your tenancy to your landlord was a fixed term tenancy with a term of at least 6 months you remained liable even if you were no longer a resident. Therefore you must show that someone else was resident and took on the liability.

If the tenancy was periodic and you can show that you were not resident, then the liability falls on your landlord. In that case I guess it would be in his interest that you can prove that your girlfriend was in fact resident.

antrobus

The facts are that you are named as the tenant in the rental agreement, you did once occupy the property, you intend to return to the property in the future, so the fact that aren't actually living there because you're working somewhere else, still means that it is your sole or main residence for CT purposes. So CT would be due in respect of the property despite the fact that it was occupied by a student. And CT works in accordance with a hierarchy of liability where the resident in possession of a leasehold interest ranks higher than a mere occupant. Which means you.

That certainly would be council's take on the position.

Bobdylan

Thanks for the landlord zone post that's my post as well.. Thought best to try all available avenues for advice!

theartfullodger

You should treat this seriously: Council tax bills are amongst the very few you can, if you fail to pay & communicate with the court, end up in jail for...

See..
https://www.gov.uk/council-tax-arrears

Cheers!

CIS

In any case, I think (I am not a lawyer) that your defence must be that (a) you were not resident but (b) someone else was, and that as such as per section 6 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 you were not liable for the council tax.
You need convincing evidence of both (a) and (b).

Correct however there's more complicated issues at play here.

If I read it correctly the - the OP and his friend rented a flat under a standard Tenancy so each had a liability for the entire rent on the property.

The OP then rents part of the property to his fiance.

This means that that the fiance only had a rental liability for part of the property and the property would therefore fall as a House in Multiple Occupation for council tax purposes with her landlords, the OP and his friend, falling responsible for the council tax under the council tax (liability for owners) regulations.

On the basis of the information so far I would agree with the council's determination.

If the OP lived in the property previously and had the legal right to then return to the property the council would also be correct to make a determination that it remained his 'sole or main residence' in which case he would also remain liable for the council tax - regardless of his fiance being resident (she technically would then become jointly liable as his resident partner but then disregarded from this on the basis of being a full time student).

jjlandlord

Good points, CIS. I missed the joint-tenancy issue.

However, I must disagree with:

If the OP lived in the property previously and had the legal right to then return to the property the council would also be correct to make a determination that it remained his 'sole or main residence' in which case he would also remain liable for the council tax

If you move out and (sub-)let the property, then you are no longer resident during that time for council tax purposes.
Otherwise, many landlords would still be deemed liable for CT!

Bobdylan

Thanks for the responses. I was much to the same thinking as jjlandlord that, as I didn't occupy the flat and a new occupant had moved in I shouldn't be liable - else everyone who sublets or rents their property would always be liable for council tax of others.. No?

jjlandlord

You said you rented with your friend: Was it a joint tenancy or 2 separate tenancies?