Registering for council tax

Jude57

housebuyer143 said:

lincroft1710 said:

housebuyer143 said:

scoros said:

Thanks for your reply. I’m pretty sure my father hasn’t ever claimed the 25% discount as he and my mother lived together in the same house (I moved away in my early 20s for work but returned several years ago), and obviously won’t claim it now while I’m still around. I am on the electoral roll and switched address for my bank accounts etc a long time ago. 

I understand there’s a hierarchy of liability for council tax payment and according to this my father remain solely liable as the house is in his name (I’d be regarded as a “resident licensee” i.e. I live in his home with his full permission). However I am drawing up a couple of LPAs for my father to help deal with his finances etc as he gets older, so hopefully I can assume responsibility for council tax while he’s still officially liable.

Honestly I don't think the council cares who lives there as long as someone is registered and pays the tax. They are not going over property deeds to ensure the names match up. 
They would only be interested who lives there if sole occupancy is claimed.

The council will care as they have to be certain they are billing the person(s) liable to pay the CT. The OP is not a liable person.

The council have bill payer for the address and bills are being paid, so they have a liable person listed.
Whenever I have registered to pay CT they literally ask me where I live and set me up - no more investigation appears to go into it.

'Appears' being the operative word. Council Tax is billed based on the assumption that there are two adults resident in the property. It's then up to the Liable Person (as defined by Council Tax legislation) to apply to vary that, so for example, if there's only one adult, the resident must apply for the Single Occupant Discount or for Council Tax Reduction based in low income, or for any other resident to be exempted for reasons such as being a full-time student or a person with Severe Mental Impairment. The Council Tax team will carry out data matching with the Electoral Roll, their own Housing Department if applicable and with DWP if CTR is applied for. This is a rolling programme of checks and it's conducted by Council Tax staff every day. I know this because I was a Council Tax Recovery Officer for over a decade. In the OP's situation, @lincroft1710 is, as ever, quite correct to say that, for Council Tax purposes, there has been no material change in liability because even following the death of the OP's mother, there are still two adults resident.