Council tax after renting

Cookie22

Hi all. I have a question regarding council tax after leaving a rental property.
I'll keep it as short as I can.
I left my rented property after 4 years and 10 months. This was 3 months before the end, and was due to the neighbour harassing me (And there are plenty of 999 calls, crime numbers, and council anti-social behaviour reports to back this up). I agreed to let the landlord keep the whole deposit as I left early.
Now, the council are insisting I am liable for council tax until the end of the tenancy, despite the fact I cannot access the property, and it's back up for rent with a different letting agent.
Is there anything I can do? I could not stay in the property as I feared for my safety. Plus, as I'm now paying council tax somewhere else, my budget doesn't really have room for this as well.
Also, if it turns out I am liable for it until the end date of my tenency, what happens when someone else rents It? Do I end up paying someone else's council tax too? Or do we both pay it?
Sorry, still longer than I meant it to be!
Thanks in advance.

G_M

If the tenancy was ended (this is not the same as vacating the property), then you should have obtained written confirmation of this from the LL.


Pass that to the council.

Cookie22

If the tenancy was ended (this is not the same as vacating the property), then you should have obtained written confirmation of this from the LL.

Ah. I didn't know this. He gave me nothing, and is now not replying to my emails. I guess I'm stuffed then...

sevenhills

Cookie22 wrote: »

I left my rented property after 4 years and 10 months. I could not stay in the property as I feared for my safety. Plus, as I'm now paying council tax somewhere else, my budget doesn't really have room for this as well.

If you are paying council tax somewhere else, then you do not need to pay the old one.
Photo copy your council tax bill and highlight the start date.

davidmcn

sevenhills wrote: »

If you are paying council tax somewhere else, then you do not need to pay the old one.

On what basis? If you're the tenant of two properties then generally speaking you'll be liable for both (unless you can claim relief for one being unoccupied and unfurnished).

Sanne

Have a look at your council re empty properties - that might cover at last some of the period (assuming the flat wasn’t furnished). It’s only a month at our council before it goes to 100% liability but maybe that covers it until it’s let out again and someone else becomes liable to CT (or at least part of that period).

anselld

Sanne wrote: »

Have a look at your council re empty properties - that might cover at last some of the period (assuming the flat wasn’t furnished). It’s only a month at our council before it goes to 100% liability but maybe that covers it until it’s let out again and someone else becomes liable to CT (or at least part of that period).

Our Council has no discount period. Declaring it empty would simply result in a single person losing their discount.

anselld

Cookie22 wrote: »

Also, if it turns out I am liable for it until the end date of my tenency, what happens when someone else rents It? Do I end up paying someone else's council tax too? Or do we both pay it?

You liability stops as soon as a new tenant moves in and takes on liability. The Council cannot charge double CT, neither can the Landlord charge double rent.

Mela322

We went back and forth with our council. We moved out early although paid the full month's rent. When we finished cleaning up and painting, the landlords wanted to come in and renovate and was actually quite pushy about turning our keys in that day. We did that and had an email that day saying they fully returned our deposit and we were done. Then I got a bill for the last bit of council tax.

It took me about a month to get the council to accept that we turned the keys in that day and forwarded the email to them and had no access to the property seeing we no longer had the key. Our landlord did not share any info with the council other than the end date of our tenancy. Their plan was to get the house renovated before that date and not have to pay council tax.

I would have been happy to pay tax if I still had the keys or even access while the landlord was there but I'm not going to pay tax for my landlords to renovate.

anselld

Mela322 wrote: »

We did that and had an email that day saying they fully returned our deposit and we were done.

You said in the first post that the L kept your entire deposit.

Mela322 wrote: »

I would have been happy to pay tax if I still had the keys or even access while the landlord was there but I'm not going to pay tax for my landlords to renovate.

CT Liability does not rest on access or having the keys. It rests on whether or not the contract has terminated. It is not uncommon in a move for people to check out and leave prior to the end of the tenancy in which case liability continues to the end of the contract.

Council can get heavy quite quickly so you need to be 100% sure you can prove end of contract before taking them on.

Mnd

anselld wrote: »

You said in the first post that the L kept your entire deposit.
.

Different posters i think