Council Tax bill for previous property liability.

SpikeyKitten

Hi guys,

I recently moved after being asked to leave my previous rented house so that it could be sold.

I've now received a council tax bill at my new property for the previous property which relates to the month after I moved out. After speaking to a representative at the council he told me that my old landlord has told them that I moved out a month after I actually did, and unless I can prove otherwise then tough luck. 

I'm not on speaking terms with my previous landlord so there's no value in talking to them about it. (They diddled me out of my deposit, paid in cash, more fool me).

Have I got a leg to stand on with this council tax bill? The person at the council said that I would need to show when my tenancy ended. But there wasn't an end date on the contract. It was an AST rolling tenancy taken out fifteen years ago. The landlord had issued me with a Section 21, but I left a month before the deadline.

It doesn't seem fair to me. If it's 'one word against the other', how come the council automatically side with the landlord? 

QrizB

It'll come down to "when did your tenancy end?"

If you didn't agree that your tenancy ended a month before the date on the Section 21 notice, you could still be liable for the Council Tax.

However, if they didn't protect your deposit, the Section 21 notice probably wasn't valid:

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_protection_rules

... plus you can claim up to 3x your deposit in compensation:

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_make_a_tenancy_deposit_compensation_claim

Are you annoyed enough at your former landlord to go through the hassle of takin him to court?

fatbelly

It-s about when the tenancy ended. The council are correct.

As you said you moved out a month before you needed to, this sounds correct from the info you have given

fatbelly

If it ever happens again (or for others reading) you don't have to leave when you get a S21, even if it-s valid.

And this one probably wasn't

elmer

before you pay the bill, check on your councils website whether they offer any discounts for an unoccupied property that you can apply for, in Scotland you can get a 100% exemption but all councils in England set their own rules

Kim_13

Anyone receiving a S21 should only hand the keys back early if the LL will sign to agree that an early surrender of the tenancy has been agreed. This can then be provided to the council as evidence and ensures that LL only has possession of the property back when he is liable for the CT. By all means physically move out if the right onward property comes along in order to not miss out (better than legal proceedings later when the other property has been taken) but take the keys with you - unless you are moving so far that it is not worth the effort of returning them on the last day/you can’t get anyone else to do so instead. If LL was really trying it on he could theoretically claim you owed him rent for the period until the S21 expired, as there’s nothing to say the tenancy wasn’t continuing. Evidence of living elsewhere only proves that you left by the deadline, not that the tenancy had been ended earlier.

As the deposit was paid in cash, the LL could argue he didn’t take one therefore there’s no mileage in any action against the deposit not being protected.