Council tax single occupant reduction

Superstar69

Hello,

I hope this is the right thread for my query, if not I apologies, feel free to move it.

We are a married couple renting a flat and regularly paying our council tax. Two months ago my spouse moved out to go abroad for family reasons. Date of return is unknown at the moment, could end up being out of the country for more then 6 months.

Would it be possible for me to apply for the single occupancy reduction in Council tax? I live on my own now.
We have a joint tenancy and some utility bills are under my spouse name and paid by DD through my spouse bank account.

Thanks for your help

00ec25

no you cannot claim SPD

- the marriage has not broken down
- the wife intends to return to you at a date in the future (currently unknown)
- it remains her main residence even if she is living abroad for years to come unless the marriage dissolves

there is case law around exactly that point, you will lose if you claim SPD and then get taken to court

CIS

Agree fully with the above - claim and you potentially risk prosecution by the Local Authority further down the line.

Council Tax works on the basis of 'sole or main residence' and 'intention to return' - where someone leaves a property that was their 'sole or main residence' but has an 'intention to return' then that property remains their residence for Council Tax purposes and any discounts have to be determined on that basis.

Craig

Superstar69

Thank you for your input and sorry for late reply. Are you saying that simply by asking the council for a SPR I would be taken to court?? That seems a bit OT. Should they not assess you first and then
write to you saying YES or NO based on the evidence? How can they possibly take me to court simply because I have asked them for a discount in light of my situation ...I don't understand.

uknick

I think they're saying you'll be taken to court if you claim and start to receive the allowance when you're not entitled to it. My council's form just asks for name, address and what discount you want. So, if the council are busy they could well process the form without checking the detail.

But, I'm not sure what there is to assess in your case. You don't seem to met the criteria, end of. Why waste the council's time, and your council tax, in processing your claim?

CIS

Superstar69 wrote: »

Thank you for your input and sorry for late reply. Are you saying that simply by asking the council for a SPR I would be taken to court?? That seems a bit OT. Should they not assess you first and then
write to you saying YES or NO based on the evidence? How can they possibly take me to court simply because I have asked them for a discount in light of my situation ...I don't understand.

Making an enquiry or an application isn't an issue - the issue arises if a person knowingly applies for a discount having provided false information in order to get the discount. Stay away from doing anything which involves false information and you'll be fine in that respect.

I can tell you now though, on the information you've given, that you wouldn't be entitled to the discount.

00ec25

ok for the sake of labouring it

there are 4 possible outcomes

1. You notify the council you wish to claim SPD. The council asks you why, you state what you have written in post#1. The council will refuse the discount as you are not entitled to it. That will be the end of that.

2. You claim the discount. The council does not ask for an explanation at that time. At a later date it comes to their attention you are not entitled to it. The council will demand repayment in full of all discount you have had. You may try to negotiate a repayment plan with the council, but their start point will be lump sum in full on demand. Make the re-payment and that will be the end of it.

3. You claim the discount. The council does not ask for an explanation at that time. At a later date it comes to their attention you are not entitled to it. The council decides that you deliberately made a false declaration that you were living on your own. The council decides to make an example of you and takes you to court for fraud.

4. You claim the discount. The council does not ask for an explanation at that time. At a later date it comes to their attention you are not entitled to it. The council asks for repayment, you refuse or you don't pay up on time. The council takes you to court and gets an enforcement order allowing them to collect the money from you either by deduction from your pay or, ultimately, via bailiffs.

1 is self evident

2. is the outcome in 99.9% of cases

3. is the outcome in 0.01% of cases

4. is madness

vikkiew

I don't know about the legal consequences of the scenarios being discussed but I can confirm that so long as an address remains one's primary residence then council tax is due. The act of being married (or not) is not relevant, this would be no different to a house mate.

CIS

The key aspect in all of this is 'residency', as defined under s6 of the LGFA92. Providing a person has their 'sole or main residence' within a property (i.e they are resident) then, regardless of where they are currently living, they are taken in to account for the purposes of Council Tax as though they were at that property.

If they are living elsewhere, for example abroad, then as long as they have the 'intention to return' to the original property then that property would still remain as their residence for the purposes of Council Tax.

In the case of a couple the residence of each partner would need to be looked at individually but in most cases it would be regarded as the same property, although it is not automatically the case and they may actually retain separate residences.

phillw

CIS wrote: »

The key aspect in all of this is 'residency', as defined under s6 of the LGFA92. Providing a person has their 'sole or main residence' within a property (i.e they are resident) then, regardless of where they are currently living, they are taken in to account for the purposes of Council Tax as though they were at that property.

Do they double dip? i.e. you get a job for a year at the other end of the country and stay with a person who is currently getting a single person discount. Are then both your partner and the person you are staying with ineligible for the single person discount? Have you entered a quantum state of being resident in both properties at the same time?

CIS

Do they double dip? i.e. you get a job for a year at the other end of the country and stay with a person who is currently getting a single person discount. Are then both your partner and the person you are staying with ineligible for the single person discount? Have you entered a quantum state of being resident in both properties at the same time?

If Person A is living elsewhere but has an 'intention to return' to the original property then they a) cannot get a discount where they are living as it's not their ''sole or main residence'' and b) Person B cannot claim a single person discount as Person A is still regarded as being resident with them for council tax purposes.

If in the above case Person A was living in another (Person C's) house, then Person C could continue to claim a single person discount because Person A is not regarded as being resident in their house (usually seen in the case of Mon-Fri lodgers).