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Who is liable for council tax?
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brokenbritain118
Posts: 1 Newbie
So my partner moved out recently but is refusing to take their bake off the tenancy. I'm a student and they were a f/t worker, what I'm worried about now is the council tax. If they don't pay it, will I be liable even though I get the 100% discount? Will they come to my home and take things if they don't pay? How can I prove they don't live here even if they won't comply and remove their name? I can't afford £66 a month for something I don't have to pay. 😨
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Do you have an address for your ex partner? Will they be paying CT at that address?
You need to speak to the council.0 -
brokenbritain118 wrote: »So my partner moved out recently but is refusing to take their bake off the tenancy. I'm a student and they were a f/t worker, what I'm worried about now is the council tax. If they don't pay it, will I be liable even though I get the 100% discount? Will they come to my home and take things if they don't pay? How can I prove they don't live here even if they won't comply and remove their name? I can't afford £66 a month for something I don't have to pay. 😨
For an occupied property - your partner ceases to be liable when the property is no longer their 'sole or main residence' and they have no 'intention to return'.
Proving that they have left is difficult part - you need to a) prove they have left and b) apply for a Class N council tax exemption. Experience shows me it can either be an easy process or turn in to a complete and utter nightmare, hopefully the former though ! Sometimes it's down to how you word it, make sure you get it right and the process is often far smoother.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.0 -
As the OP currently pays no council tax because they are a full time student, I'm assuming that the council won't be able to come after them for the outstanding amount. The partner would seem to be shooting themself in the foot by refusing to remove their name from the tenancy as they will still be responsible for the payment. Or am I missing something?0
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As the OP currently pays no council tax because they are a full time student, I'm assuming that the council won't be able to come after them for the outstanding amount. The partner would seem to be shooting themself in the foot by refusing to remove their name from the tenancy as they will still be responsible for the payment. Or am I missing something?
You are correct for most situations - the OP appears to be disregarded currently so, except in certain unusual cases, they would not be jointly liable for the charge currently.
The issue comes in that they appear to be trying to get the records amended so that it's corrected to show that the other party has left and so the council don't try and pursue the outstanding balance to the address. At the moment the council think that a 75% charge is due and is not being paid, they will only allow this to go on for so long before they start trying to enforce the debt - trying to them deal with enforcement agents etc is a hassle.
As far as the partner is concerned their name being on the tenancy or not is not particularly relevant to the council tax issue at the moment, what is relevant is their 'sole or main residence'.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.0 -
brokenbritain118 wrote: »So my partner moved out recently but is refusing to take their bake off the tenancy. I'm a student and they were a f/t worker, what I'm worried about now is the council tax. If they don't pay it, will I be liable even though I get the 100% discount? Will they come to my home and take things if they don't pay? How can I prove they don't live here even if they won't comply and remove their name? I can't afford £66 a month for something I don't have to pay. 😨
Depending on what system the council is using it should be evident as to who was/is the liable party/ties during the relevant occupancy periods.
But systems play up, don’t work etc. and you may encounter difficulties as CIS has posted.
So I would be asking the council to end the joint account at the date the partner left the property, this will then show the outstanding balance.
Then you will get your own account with the student disregard on it.
The council may well not do this if
a forwarding address is not provided
or there has been other periods of full liability (not a student etc.) and payments are outstanding for these periods.
But under the joint and several liability rules they should pursue the other person
As to taking their name of the tenancy the letting agent may not allow this either as the agents can them pursue the left party for outstanding rent - is the other party aware of this as I would take my name off in a flash.
I would suggest visiting your local CAB office for guidence.“You’re only here for a short visit.
Don’t hurry, don't worry and be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”Walter Hagen
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As far as the partner is concerned their name being on the tenancy or not is not particularly relevant to the council tax issue at the moment, what is relevant is their 'sole or main residence'.
The question I'm asking I suppose is, if the former partner is insisting that their name remains on the tenancy, and they don't provide the council with detail of any other address, won't they remain liable for the Council Tax?0 -
The question I'm asking I suppose is, if the former partner is insisting that their name remains on the tenancy, and they don't provide the council with detail of any other address, won't they remain liable for the Council Tax?
Not for an occupied property as I mentioned in post #3. Under Council Tax legislation a forwarding address is not a requirement (although some councils will try and say it is, which it isn't)
Council Tax legislation requires a person has their 'sole or main residence' in the property before they can be regarded as resident for the purposes of Council Tax. A non-resident cannot be liable for Council Tax on an occupied property (with few exceptions).
The issue comes in proving the vacation to the council (and a tribunal, if required) - if they aren't satisfied on the proof of vacation the council will dig and say they are still resident in their opinion. This where the arguments and the making sure you use the correct terminology etc occur.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.0
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