Council Chasing for Council Tax (not owed)

Amy_lou

Hi, I ideally wanted to post this in the CAB forum too but it doesn’t seem to want to work?

My other half is being pursued for an old council tax bill, they state he owes them from a period of May to October. They classed him as exempt up until then as it was a house he and Friends were renting at uni and you are exempt as a student. The problem being his friends got letters from the uni confirming they were students until the end of September (and had it waived), which the uni have told him they cannot do a letter until September as the course ended in the May. Clearly they made a mistake on the other 2 friends which they lucked out with.

The issue being he is being pursued for several hundred pounds and now threatened with iminent debt collection/poor credit if not paid.

He moved out of the property in the May to a friends anyway, so while we think the student element as an appeal route is dead, the fact that he wasn’t residing there means he shouldn’t be liable?

We have an email from him to the rental agency confirming he would not be renewing his tenancy in the June, aside from that we are limited in evidence.

Can anyone suggest anything else as possible evidence or a route of appeal at all?

One thought I had was whether he was showing on the open register that we could print to prove leaving one address and moving to the other? However I also cannot find the open register through the local councils site... any ideas here? :rotfl:

Any suggestions or help would be gratefully received!

Thanks in advance

CIS

They classed him as exempt up until then as it was a house he and Friends were renting at uni and you are exempt as a student

A person is disregarded, the property is exempt - a minor issue but the wrong terminology can lead to problems in translation.

The problem being his friends got letters from the uni confirming they were students until the end of September (and had it waived), which the uni have told him they cannot do a letter until September as the course ended in the May. Clearly they made a mistake on the other 2 friends which they lucked out with.

If the Uni have certified that the courses for the others have continued but his did not then there's not a lot that can be done. Legally he was not undertaking a qualifying course of education for the period in question so you're right, that side of it is dead.

He moved out of the property in the May to a friends anyway, so while we think the student element as an appeal route is dead, the fact that he wasn’t residing there means he shouldn’t be liable?

That depends on who was living in the property in question from May to the end of the tenancy and what the exact circumstances are. Once that's known a legislative argument could possibly be made.

The issue being he is being pursued for several hundred pounds and now threatened with iminent debt collection/poor credit if not paid.

Council tax doesn't affect a credit rating. It would not use a debt collector, it would be an enforcement agent (a bailiff).

Can anyone suggest anything else as possible evidence or a route of appeal at all?

There is the potential of a valuation tribunal appeal but there is a statutory process that needs to be completed as part of this.

System

Did he notify the council when he had moved out in May at the time?