Council Tax - Enforcement Notice Received

Blanco92

Hi,
I'm looking for some advice concerning an enforcement notice received by my mother. The first we heard about the issue is today; the enforcement notice was received via SMS message. 

To summarise:
- Mum lets a home to students. It's a student-only household. She has owned and let this property for the last 10 years.
- Mum lives elsewhere. She last moved approx 2yrs ago.
- It transpires that when she last moved home, she forgot to update her correspondence address with the council.
- We've since established access to an online account with the council and this details a bunch of correspondence that was all addressed to her previous home. The correspondence consists of invoices, exemption notices, a reminder, a summons and enforcement notice.
- The Mags appear to have issued a liability order (dated 3rd Jan 2024) concerning a billing period of 1st July 2023 to 31st March 2024.
- Notwithstanding the fact she failed to update her correspondence address, mum does generally get her admin done and had previously claimed a council tax exemption for her student-only household which covers the period 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024. We have a letter from the council stating this.

Our understanding is that an exemption is in force, so no monies are owed, and we're quite bemused how this has happened and what to do next...

Does it work like a CCJ where in such circumstances you can apply to have the order "set aside" and then deal with the matter from there?

Thanks in advance!

fatbelly

No it doesn't work like that.

Think of the LO as a rubber stamping exercise. The Mag Ct just does what the council tells them so if the council have screwed up then you need to tell the council that the property has a Class N exemption.

Blanco92

Thanks @fatbelly,
So is there any need to fill and send an N244 to ensure the enforcement suspended?

fatbelly

No this is Magistrate Court not County Court.

Just talk to the council, today preferably. They have probably already given this to bailiffs.

While there are occupants in the property a non-resident owner should not be liable. If one of the occupants stopped meeting the strict definition of student, they would become liable.