Help! Council Tax.

redcherry_girl

Hi,

I'm in the middle of moving house and because of the contracts on my current and new houses I've got a month of overlap. Does this mean I have to pay council tax for both houses? Council tax on my current house is £50 a month.... Council tax on my new house is £75. Should I just pay for one of the two? Any advice is greatly appreciated,

redcherrygirl

busydaffodil1

phone the council when you move out of new property saying house will be empty and no furniture will be there. They should play ball. They allow up to 6 months free if property empty usually.

CIS

Busydaffofdil1 is correct, when theres an overlap then we usually give a Class C as the vacated property will be empty and unfurnished.

redcherry_girl

Ok... I might have another slight problem then.

I'm moving from a shared rented property into a 2 bed flat (with my partner who is moving from a property he shares with other people)... The flat won't be empty, my current housemates will still be there I just won't. Only one of my housemates pays council tax anyway as the other one is on disabled benefits. So, does this mean the one housemate will end up having to pay the whole council tax? The boyfriend of the housemate on benefits had a go at me saying I should pay the council tax, but I don't see why I should if I'm not here. I know it's not nice for the housemate who also pays council tax, but I don't see why I should pay council tax for 2 houses. If you see what I mean. Could someone explain what'll happen in this situation? Thanks,

redcherrygirl

dmg24

If your tenancy still runs for that month, then you are still liable to pay your share of the council tax. It was your choice to move out early.

Chaddee

If you're moving out of the property at the start of the month then I don't think it would be very reasonable of them to ask you to pay the council tax for that month! If you're leaving during the month I'd work out how much it is per day per person and give your housemate a check for the exact amount you owe. Then it's fair and you're not having to faff around with it.

redcherry_girl

Thank you dmg24 but that wasn't a very helpful reply. We've already established that I should not be liable for 2 lots of council tax because one of the places is empty.

I'll be out of the house by the 1st of December... any my rent covers until the 27th of December. As the room is uninhabitable my landlord can't get another tenant in until he's chemically treated the room to get rid of the mould problem (and this landlord is rather lax so it probably wouldn't happen much before the 27th of December anyway). Would this mean that the landlord is liable for the council tax? Thanks for the reply Chaddee I think you're right, it's not fair to land me with extra council tax. And thanks to anyone else who replies and helps me puzzle this one out.

hodgester

redcherry_girl wrote: »

Thank you dmg24 but that wasn't a very helpful reply. We've already established that I should not be liable for 2 lots of council tax because one of the places is empty.
.

You might not consider it "helpful" but it is correct. You are liable on both addresses because you are contractually obliged by the terms of your tenancy. You may have moved out but you remain liable because you have signed a contractual agreement that stipulates you will pay council tax until your contract ends.

Morality unfortunately has nothing to do with it.

redcherry_girl

Well, now I'm confused because hodgester/dmg24 and busydaffodil/CIS can't both be right.

The only reason I'm paying rent is because that is what I am required to pay due to having to give my landlord notice. Surely, that doesn't stop him from sorting out the mould problem and letting someone else move in? So I really don't see why I should pay council tax (or rent for that matter) on somewhere that is uninhabitable... I'm beginning to think I should just take this up with my landlord and force him to pay it. After all, he has broken his side of the agreement so my tenancy agreement is nul and void. Surely?

missile

One could also say it is no fault of the remaining tennant. Presumably you have paid up to now? Your tennancy ends in a month, is it really worth making such a fuss over £50.

If I were your landlord I would simply deduct any unpaid council tax from your deposit.

CIS

Well, now I'm confused because hodgester/dmg24 and busydaffodil/CIS can't both be right.

The only reason I'm paying rent is because that is what I am required to pay due to having to give my landlord notice. Surely, that doesn't stop him from sorting out the mould problem and letting someone else move in? So I really don't see why I should pay council tax (or rent for that matter) on somewhere that is uninhabitable... I'm beginning to think I should just take this up with my landlord and force him to pay it. After all, he has broken his side of the agreement so my tenancy agreement is nul and void. Surely?

My post agrees with hodgester (as does busydaffodil and DMG), you will remain liable for both properties but depending on the circs you may be able to get your council to apply a Class C exemption if its empty and unfurnished - we do tend to it pretty much without asking but each dept will have their own way of going about it.

If the property is furnished then the council will apply a furnished discount rate (varys between councils).

Unfortunately the LL has the legel support in this argument as you still hold a legal tenancy until either the end date or he ends it early. Your argument wouldn't stand as a defence against paying.