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Council Tax on vacated property
Comments
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Not sure if its different where the property was, but can CT not be waived if a property is vacant? would this not be the logical step to take for both parties?0
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[STRIKE]From the date you moved out of the property, and the property became empty, liability passed to the Landlord.
The Council cannot charge you beyond the date you moved out, even though your tenancy continued.
Reimbursing your landlord is between you and him, according to whatever terms were in your tenancy agreement.[/STRIKE]0 -
From the date you moved out of the property, and the property became empty, liability passed to the Landlord.
The Council cannot charge you beyond the date you moved out, even though your tenancy continued
That depends on the terms and type of tenancy agreement that is in place - for example, if the OP had a fixed term that had continued in to a contractual tenancy then they would have a tenancy that was granted for a term of 6 months or more and so remain liable as the 'owner' for council tax purposes. It also depends on what date the tenancy was formally ended - it appears the landlord is trying to stick to a two month notice period.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 -
Not sure if its different where the property was, but can CT not be waived if a property is vacant? would this not be the logical step to take for both parties?
No.
Many areas have high levels of holiday homes which are unoccupied a lot of the time. Those areas still need an income.
Unoccupied properties still use services that the council tax pays for.0 -
[STRIKE]From the date you moved out of the property, and the property became empty, liability passed to the Landlord.
[/STRIKE]That depends on the terms and type of tenancy agreement that is in place.
Thanks for that. It's a while since I worked in LG Finance, and I wasn't aware of the 2016 case law. I note the original legislation has not changed, and that is not how we used to interpret it.0 -
Not sure if its different where the property was, but can CT not be waived if a property is vacant? would this not be the logical step to take for both parties?marliepanda wrote: »No.
Many areas have high levels of holiday homes which are unoccupied a lot of the time. Those areas still need an income.
Unoccupied properties still use services that the council tax pays for.
Discounts for unoccupied properties are at the discretion of the council.
Properties don't use council services - people do.0 -
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Not sure if its different where the property was, but can CT not be waived if a property is vacant? would this not be the logical step to take for both parties?
Originally posted by Sibz
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No.
Many areas have high levels of holiday homes which are unoccupied a lot of the time. Those areas still need an income.
Unoccupied properties still use services that the council tax pays for.
Originally posted by marliepanda
”Discounts for unoccupied properties are at the discretion of the council.
Properties don't use council services - people do.
- So this may be something worth checking?0 -
Discounts for unoccupied properties are at the discretion of the council.
Properties don't use council services - people do.
You can be pedantic about it, but it’s not going to make a difference. Whilst it’s not a service charge it is charged on the property regardless of the occupants. There are single person discounts but other than that, 2 people or 10 people, the charge remains the same.
The house can burn down without people being around. It can be vandalised without people around. I’m assuming the people responsible for the properties would still like those services to activate in an emergency, not check their list and say ‘oh sorry you’re not paying any council tax...’
Of course it’s worth checking to see if the council offers an unoccupied discount, but to say ‘why on earth would an empty property attract a council tax charge’ shows you are one of those people who assume your council tax pays only for your bin to be emptied...0 -
Not sure if its different where the property was, but can CT not be waived if a property is vacant? would this not be the logical step to take for both parties?marliepanda wrote: »No.
Many areas have high levels of holiday homes which are unoccupied a lot of the time. Those areas still need an income.
Unoccupied properties still use services that the council tax pays for.Discounts for unoccupied properties are at the discretion of the council.
Properties don't use council services - people do.
You seemed to be saying that Council Tax cannot be waived if a property is empty. That is simply untrue. I wasn't being pedantic, I was just correcting an inaccuracy which was unhelpful.marliepanda wrote: »You can be pedantic about it
Of course, you may have meant that giving discounts on unoccupied properties is not the right thing to do, but that is just taking the thread way off topic.marliepanda wrote: »You can be pedantic about it, but it’s not going to make a difference. Whilst it’s not a service charge it is charged on the property regardless of the occupants. There are single person discounts but other than that, 2 people or 10 people, the charge remains the same.
That is simply untrue. You are one of those people who doesn't understand Council Tax.marliepanda wrote: »The house can burn down without people being around. It can be vandalised without people around. I’m assuming the people responsible for the properties would still like those services to activate in an emergency, not check their list and say ‘oh sorry you’re not paying any council tax...’
Properties don't use services. People use services. The biggest elements of Local Authority spending are Education and Social Services. The Police and Fire Brigade will turn out to deal with an emergency regardless of where the emergency is, or whether or not any people involved are taxpayers.marliepanda wrote: »Of course it’s worth checking to see if the council offers an unoccupied discount, but to say ‘why on earth would an empty property attract a council tax charge’ shows you are one of those people who assume your council tax pays only for your bin to be emptied...
Why on earth are you making up statements and attributing them to me?
I have a very good understanding as to how Local Authorities and Precepting Authorities are financed, and the services which are provided.0 -
You seemed to be saying that Council Tax cannot be waived if a property is empty. That is simply untrue. I wasn't being pedantic, I was just correcting an inaccuracy which was unhelpful.
Of course, you may have meant that giving discounts on unoccupied properties is not the right thing to do, but that is just taking the thread way off topic.[/COLOR]
That is simply untrue. You are one of those people who doesn't understand Council Tax.
Properties don't use services. People use services. The biggest elements of Local Authority spending are Education and Social Services. The Police and Fire Brigade will turn out to deal with an emergency regardless of where the emergency is, or whether or not any people involved are taxpayers.
Why on earth are you making up statements and attributing them to me?
I have a very good understanding as to how Local Authorities and Precepting Authorities are financed, and the services which are provided.
You really need 5 different colours for that?
I never said council tax is always charged on an empty property, nor can I tell from here what the OPs council exemptions are.
However, a blanket statement of ‘no ones living there so why would there be a council tax charge’ is incorrect and doesn’t take into account what the council tax is charged for.
You have a good understanding yet had no idea that liability lasted until a FT tenancy ended... okay. Maybe if I used some more colours it’d help. Council tax is NOT a service charge so its pretty irrelevant what services are and aren’t being used anyway, but you should know that with your amazing knowledge...0
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