Help! Council Tax Liability order and I've paid in full

justanewbie

Hi All,

I purchased a property which is split into two self contained flats, however, it is derelict (not habitable) and requires lots of work. I also work out of town and am not always in the city it is in to check mail.

I've checked the letters there and:

1. Dated 3rd September I received a summons to appear at court on 1st October for the two flats.

2. on 9 Sept I paid the bill (previously received) in full for both flats (having not been back to the property to check for any new mail)

3. Dated 3rd October is a letter stating that I must pay £130 (total £260) for each flat which is £65 council tax and £65 costs and if this is not paid within 7 days council agents will be instructed to collect the debt (i've checked the mail today on 15 October).

My question is do I have any grounds to appeal this as:

1. The property is empty since purchase.
2. I paid the original bill in full.
3. I often work out of town.

HELP PLEASE!

dancingfairy

Yes, you obviously need to get in touch with the council (in writing) and explain that you have already paid.
If you are out of town a lot do you have an address somewhere else the council can write to you?
Also, in terms of applying for the discount you will need to check what exemptions/discounts apply where you are as the government has given each council to set their own rules. There is a category for uninhabitable but the criteria for this is normally quite strict and the discount available will depend on the council. Some councils nowadays aren't keen to grant exemptioins/discounts on empty houses as they are keen to get them lived in again.
There is also a category for empty and unfurnished but this applies for a limited time only.
Ask the council for more details.
df

CIS

3. Dated 3rd October is a letter stating that I must pay £130 (total £260) for each flat which is £65 council tax and £65 costs and if this is not paid within 7 days council agents will be instructed to collect the debt (i've checked the mail today on 15 October).

I would find it odd that the amount underpaid is the same for each property if you have paid the full amount for each property - there are 2 likely causes, 1) you have underpaid each property by £65.00 or 2) the first lot of £65.00 is a summons cost and the second lot of £65.00 for the liability orders (this would be on the high side though).

The only way to know for certain is to ask the council.

FireWyrm

Usually 'uninhabitable' is pretty strict, but (out council) defines this as not having a bathroom or a kitchen facility, or the internal walls are plain brick (you are replastering). How much council tax did you pay?

justanewbie

Thanks for the replies.

For info. as of January 2014, this council no longer offers discounts on such properties which are not occupied.

I just rang them - they said as it has gone to summons, I still need to pay £65 for each flat, even though I paid them in full (the summons was on 3 Sept and I paid on the 9 Sept as I didn't go to the property to check for mail).

FireWyrm

justanewbie wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

For info. as of January 2014, this council no longer offers discounts on such properties which are not occupied.

What a shocking surprise.

justanewbie wrote: »

I just rang them - they said as it has gone to summons, I still need to pay £65 for each flat, even though I paid them in full (the summons was on 3 Sept and I paid on the 9 Sept as I didn't go to the property to check for mail).

Now, any other reasonable institution would simply knock this whole process on the head, but really, the council are a bunch of cowboys. They are by far the worst creditor to deal with . Even HMRC themselves look like paragons of virtue compared to the Council.

SerialRenter

I would very much recommend spending a bit of money on the royal mail redirection service.

Or when you write to the council, inform them of your preferable point of contact/primary address.