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Unpaid Council Tax for 5 years and a death

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  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 18,905 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    As your mother lived with her partner as man and wife, her name should have been on the CT bill together with her partner's. The council have either made another mistake or were not aware of your mother's status or possibly were not aware of her living at the house.
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • CIS
    CIS Posts: 12,260 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    As your mother lived with her partner as man and wife, her name should have been on the CT bill together with her partner's. The council have either made another mistake or were not aware of your mother's status or possibly were not aware of her living at the house.

    It sounds to me like there has been a lack of information heading the council's way and that is why this has occurred - the likely course of action is that the council will now issue a revised demand notice and make the two jointly liable.

    I would very much doubt the council have sat on it for 5 years with no notices being sent - I've seen plenty of similar cases and each one was down to the liable person not dealing with the notices and, often, actively hiding the notices from others in the house.
    I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.
  • uknick
    uknick Posts: 1,769 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 30 October 2014 at 11:07AM
    What puzzles me is why, after 5 years, no court summons was issued?

    My partner was 1 month late with her payment and she got a court summons. She had never been late before but our council operates a nil tolerance policy.

    So, how does 5 years pass and no summons and if ignored escalation to bailiffs, prison etc.?

    And, come to think of it, if probate was granted and not all debts identified/satisfied, there may be an issue for the executor now. I think they may be responsible for the debt as they seem to have distributed the estate without clearly the debts.
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