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Owing the Council Money?
JazzyNellieEffie
Posts: 5 Forumite
I live in a former council flat. It's in a block of 6 flats - 3 council owned, 3 owner-occupiers like myself. The council assumes responsibility for maintaining the communal areas and bills us accordingly. I'm fine with this arrangement as it means that I don't have to deal with the hassle of tradespeople!
In October 2016 I received a letter from the council stating that the flat roof needed to be replaced and that this work would cost approximately £1500. I duly signed and returned the form giving my permission for the work to take place.
A couple of weeks later another letter appeared saying that the previous letter was ambiguous and that the £1500 cost was per flat and not overall. Again I signed the form and sent it away. This time though I also got in contact via email with the person who sent the letter because I was worried about having to find this amount of money at short notice. He got back to me and told me about how I could pay in installments.
The work was not then carried out until April 2017 by which time I had saved the money for the bill and more so have no need of the installments. I have yet to receive a bill for this work. I have tried to chase them (only once - I don't want to give my money away!)
My question is this - is there a time limit on how long the council have to bill me for this work? They have sent me bills for other work to the block in the meantime. I don't think I would care so much if the amount wasn't so large. I'm also trying to sell the property at the moment and was wondering where I might stand with this too.
TIA!
In October 2016 I received a letter from the council stating that the flat roof needed to be replaced and that this work would cost approximately £1500. I duly signed and returned the form giving my permission for the work to take place.
A couple of weeks later another letter appeared saying that the previous letter was ambiguous and that the £1500 cost was per flat and not overall. Again I signed the form and sent it away. This time though I also got in contact via email with the person who sent the letter because I was worried about having to find this amount of money at short notice. He got back to me and told me about how I could pay in installments.
The work was not then carried out until April 2017 by which time I had saved the money for the bill and more so have no need of the installments. I have yet to receive a bill for this work. I have tried to chase them (only once - I don't want to give my money away!)
My question is this - is there a time limit on how long the council have to bill me for this work? They have sent me bills for other work to the block in the meantime. I don't think I would care so much if the amount wasn't so large. I'm also trying to sell the property at the moment and was wondering where I might stand with this too.
TIA!
0
Comments
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Five year time limit for payment. The work was done during your ownership so as far as any buyer is concerned, they'll expect you to pay. Part of the sale process will be getting confirmation from the council as factors of what costs have not yet been billed for/paid.0
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Thank you for your response. I would obviously be responsible for the bill as it was me who agreed to the work so I have no issue with that. It's something that I'll ask the solicitor about when I eventually have a buyer.
5 years seems a long time though - the thought of this bill possibly coming through in 2021 out of the blue is quite worrying! I'm one of those people who like to pay bills as soon as they're in. I also like to know when they're coming so I can have the funds ready. I have the money for this now, but in 2021? Who knows!0 -
It's the normal time limit (in Scotland) for any debts - nothing unusual about it applying here.JazzyNellieEffie wrote: »5 years seems a long time though0 -
Put the £1,500 in an interest earning bank account and forget about it.0
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