Council tax after death - what's normal practice?

Savvy_Sue

It is also worth checking that if they are intending to charge you from DoD, that they refund whatever your mother has 'overpaid' since her death. If she was paying by 10 monthly installments, there would definitely have been an overpayment, as it is worked out as a daily liability.

I don't know what the CT liability for a full year is (obviously), but again, make sure they are not double billing!

I cannot comment on the legality - has the house been left to a named individual? - but it is not normal. Newbury promptly refunded what Mum had overpaid, told me that it would be exempt until probate was granted, and would then be exempt for a further six months. We scraped the sale in just before that period ended!

kfsimpson

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

It is also worth checking that if they are intending to charge you from DoD, that they refund whatever your mother has 'overpaid' since her death. If she was paying by 10 monthly installments, there would definitely have been an overpayment, as it is worked out as a daily liability.

I don't know what the CT liability for a full year is (obviously), but again, make sure they are not double billing!

I cannot comment on the legality - has the house been left to a named individual? - but it is not normal. Newbury promptly refunded what Mum had overpaid, told me that it would be exempt until probate was granted, and would then be exempt for a further six months. We scraped the sale in just before that period ended!

I think you have hit it on the nail, and this was the basis of the challenge email I have sent to B'ham - the house will be sold and form part of the estate to be divided between her children. I think they are deeming me to be the new 'owner'. Fingers crossed!

Yorkshireman99

It is important to remember that it is what the law requires not what the Council thinks they can do. Sadly some of them employ very dubious tactics to try and intimidate people. Unfortunately there are lots of dishonest people trying to avoid paying that often reflects councils attitude. Be firm and polite, and don't allow yourself to be bullied.

kfsimpson

I also now have the local councillor on the case. Will post what further response I receive. Sadly BCC 'aim to respond to all emails within 14 days. Please note that during busier periods, particularly immediately after we have issued our annual bills in March, we may take longer and possibly up to 4 weeks.'
Last time they did take 13 days!

getmore4less

Executor should claim the relevant discount and refunds
Don't tell them anything you don't need to.

rpc

kfsimpson wrote: »

I think you have hit it on the nail, and this was the basis of the challenge email I have sent to B'ham - the house will be sold and form part of the estate to be divided between her children. I think they are deeming me to be the new 'owner'. Fingers crossed!

If the will stipulates that the property be sold then the BCC rules mean no council tax is due. CT would only be payable (assuming they have the rules right) if:

if the deceased left the property to a beneficiary in their will

Leaving a property to a beneficiary is *not* the same as leaving the proceeds of sale to a beneficiary.

The hierarchy of liability (set in primary legislation) defines an owner as someone who "has a material interest in the whole or any part of the dwelling." That would cover the BCC statement about it being left to a beneficiary IMHO.

BobQ

Could it be that different rules apply if the house was owned as joint tenants with someone else. In that case the transfer is immediate on death. That seems to be what the 2nd para of the BCC text above means.

Savvy_Sue

BobQ wrote: »

Could it be that different rules apply if the house was owned as joint tenants with someone else. In that case the transfer is immediate on death. That seems to be what the 2nd para of the BCC text above means.

That may be what they intend to say, but it's not what they say. There's a very clear difference between the property passing to a co-owner as a joint tenant (effectively outside the terms of any will), and leaving the property to a named beneficiary.

I agree with you that if the OP had been a joint tenant with Mum then the liability would pass immediately - as it did when our Dad died, and Mum immediately became liable to pay the CT, albeit with a 75% discount.

The obvious sense of the BCC text is that if the will says something like "I leave the house to Fred and the proceeds of my bank accounts to Freda and my collection of Action Man toys to my grandsons Bill and Ben" then Fred immediately becomes liable for the CT.

But the general feeling (and I agree it's not a legal opinion) is that if the will says "I leave everything I own to my children Fred and Freda and they are to sell the house and share the proceeds" then they are not named beneficiaries of the house in the will.

But the OP has not, I think, said what the will says about the house, if anything.

kfsimpson

The will splits the estate three ways between her children. There is no mention of the house. It will be sold and the proceeds added to the other value of the estate. I wasn't a joint tenant, merely stayed there while she was ill, and again after to sort matters. I have my own property elsewhere in the country. Therefore, I wholly agree with the last three posters that it shouldn't be liable to CT, and this is the basis on which I have sent my latest email to BCC . Thanks everyone for your confirmation of my opinion. Let's see what the reply is when it finally comes.

DollyDee_2

My mother died at the end of October 2014. My sister and I used the Tell Us Once service when registering her death but I also phoned the council to inform them. They immediately said no more council tax was due (and issued a small refund if I remember correctly), to inform them when probate was granted (which I did in January 2015) and then we had 6 months exemption which just ran out before the sale was completed.

I had to make one payment most of which was refunded when the sale was completed. This was Walsall MB Council.