Who is responsible for Council Tax between exchange and completion?

mberk

My question seems to me to be quite simple: who is responsible for paying Council Tax between exchange and completion? Is it the buyer or seller? However I found it surprisingly impossible to find clarification on this.

Here is the background. We recently bought our first house. We exchanged 4th June 2015 and completed 12th June 2015.

I received the Council Tax bill and duly set up a direct debit.

Fast forward to last week, I received an email from the council saying that although I had told them we took ownership on 12th June, the seller had previously told them that completion took place on 4th June. I duly sent them back a copy of the Land Registry Official Register Entries showing them that we did indeed complete on the 12th and explained that the seller must have told them the date of exchange by mistake.

Looking back now at the original bill as I type this post I see that it was dated from 4th June but I never picked up on this.

I received no response to my email but assumed everything was now sorted after providing them with such irrefutable evidence. However, yesterday I received a new bill which still included the period from 4th June - 11th June although this time it was separated out from the bill for the rest of the year. There is now also a line for a deduction for the period 4th June - 11th June for it being unoccupied and furnished but the deduction is £0.00.

libf

You shouldn't be paying council tax in two places at once. Show them proof you were still paying council tax at previous house during that period? Give them previous owners new address to chase them?

anselld

The seller is responsible until completion.
Unfortunately some Councils seem to accept the first thing they are told as fact and then refuse to accept any corrections.

jamei305

You should pay from completion. They have applied a discount for the period from 4-11 June as the property was unoccupied during that time (however most councils now have an unoccupied discount of zero percent). This adjusted bill for that period should have be sent to the previous owners. I suggest writing to the council and explaining again that the sale completed on the 12th and that you are not liable for any period prior to that date.

benjus

mberk wrote: »

My question seems to me to be quite simple: who is responsible for paying Council Tax between exchange and completion? Is it the buyer or seller? However I found it surprisingly impossible to find clarification on this.

Here is the background. We recently bought our first house. We exchanged 4th June 2015 and completed 12th June 2015.

I received the Council Tax bill and duly set up a direct debit.

Fast forward to last week, I received an email from the council saying that although I had told them we took ownership on 12th June, the seller had previously told them that completion took place on 4th June.

You seem to have answered your own question... the confusion here is over when the date of completion was, not who is responsible for paying council tax between exchange and completion.

Exchange simply means that the seller has promised to sell you the property at a specified price on a specified date, and you have promised to buy it. Council tax liability only starts when you actually become the owner of the property.

As previously advised, write and tell the council that as you were neither the owner nor resident in the property before 12th June, you are not liable for council tax during that period.

pinkteapot

Seller gave the council incorrect information to get out of paying council tax. Make this clear to the council.

G_M

libf wrote: »

You shouldn't be paying council tax in two places at once. Show them proof you were still paying council tax at previous house during that period? Give them previous owners new address to chase them?

Unfortunately this is not true, but also not relevant.

There are frequent instances where peope (rightly) pay CT in two places at once. Just for obvious starters: people with a 2nd home; and people leaving a rented property and buying, whose tenancy end date is later than their purchase Completion date. Or indeed people buying & selling, but whose Completion dates do not align.

Proof that you were paying CT elsewhere is not proof that you are not due to pay CT on the new place.

However, the issue in this case is resolved as per benjus's post. I merely correct here to avoid others from misunderstanding.

p00hsticks

libf wrote: »

You shouldn't be paying council tax in two places at once. Show them proof you were still paying council tax at previous house during that period? Give them previous owners new address to chase them?

There are any number of reasons why a person may end up legitimately having to pay council tax in two places at once.
Just becasue you are paying it in one place doesn't mean that you're not liable for it in another as well.

That said, the OP isn't liable for council tax on the new property until the completion date (whether or not the actually move in on that date).