Council Tax Debt Collection After Short-Term Flat Stay – Advice Needed

jio331999

I moved into a flat temporarily from May to September 2024. I was never contacted about paying council tax and as a new renter was ignorant about it. Early this year I realised that I should contact the council and let them know that I should have paid some council tax while I was in that property for 3.5 months.

I called them up and explained. They said okay we have put that in the system and you now owe £760 for that period. I said okay. That was on 1st February. I called them up today to ask them something about it and they said "sorry because we haven't heard from you it has now been referred to a debt collection agency and you will have to deal with them".

Now I understand that it was my fault for not paying the council tax (even though no one was asking me to) however it seems a little unfair that a couple of week after I informed them I am referred to a debt collection agency.

I just wanted to hear thought and ask if there is anything I can do other than pay it off immediately?

Thanks in advance of any replies.

Olinda99

Just to ask did you give them your new address and have they sent you a bill to that address

jio331999

Olinda99 said:

Just to ask did you give them your new address and have they sent you a bill to that address

Yes and yes. The letter came to the new address and I picked it up from the mail box about 10 days ago.

PRAISETHESUN

Council tax is one of those bills you need to pay, as the penalty for not doing so is fairly steep - it can include jail time in some instances. I'd look over the bill you got in the post and if it all looks correct then I'd get it paid ASAP. If it doesn't then I'd still pay but "under protest" and you can argue about it afterwards.

Mr.Generous

As a landlord I always inform the tenant about ALL bills they have to cover, its included in the "How to rent" guide given to every tenant too. The tenancy agreement specifies which bills are covered in case of any confusion.

I've always thought it was a case of information overload when a tenant moves in, so many email and documents that they simply get skipped over or not read at all. As a landlord I get calls about smoke alarm batteries, notice periods and gas / electricity supplies - all covered in the tenancy agreement.

I'm afraid that as PRAISETHESUN says, council tax is one you just have to pay up no question. I always find it amusing that anyone in prison is exempt from council tax for the duration of the stay, murderers, terrorists, you name it. With the exception of those who didn't pay council tax, they still have to pay while at HM accomodation.

jio331999

Thank you. Yes I'm just annoyed that it was sent to debt collection so quickly, when I felt like I was trying to do the right thing by pointing it out to the council. Thank you!

jio331999

Sorry I just realised there is extra information I haven't added: I am eligible for the single person discount. Do I need to pay the debt collection company the full amount and then try to get the value of the discount back? Or should I try to get them to take the discount from the amount I owe first? If it is the latter, do I try to arrange this with the debt collection agency or with the council? 

theartfullodger

Mr.Generous said:

As a landlord I always inform the tenant about ALL bills they have to cover, its included in the "How to rent" guide given to every tenant too. The tenancy agreement specifies which bills are covered in case of any confusion.

...............

As a landlord - I was of the view that the intelligent thing to do was to inform (writing/email) council & all utilities -water leccy, gas, broadband- of ANY change of occupiers or responsibility (landlord can be responsible when tenants in residence) with any  meter readings....

I found relying on tenants to do it all could end in sadness and expense...

Mr.Generous

theartfullodger said:

Mr.Generous said:

As a landlord I always inform the tenant about ALL bills they have to cover, its included in the "How to rent" guide given to every tenant too. The tenancy agreement specifies which bills are covered in case of any confusion.

...............

As a landlord - I was of the view that the intelligent thing to do was to inform (writing/email) council & all utilities -water leccy, gas, broadband- of ANY change of occupiers or responsibility (landlord can be responsible when tenants in residence) with any  meter readings....

I found relying on tenants to do it all could end in sadness and expense...

I get where your coming from Artful, but where does supplying tenants details to utilities, council tax etc fall in relation to GDPR rules? When the council demanded (not asked me nicely) for proof of a tenants moving out dates (they left early and didn't tell me) and the council asked for a copy of tenancy agreement to confirm property was still let to the tenant who was tring to avoid paying, I told them I was willing to supply it as long as the councils GDPR expert could explain why data I collected by me for one purpose could be supplied to them for another, as this breaches GDPR. They didn't reply and cancelled the council tax bill they were trying to stick me with. GDPR rules show conflicting advice as to whether you could, they say you can for the public good in one paragraph, then say you can't because the data was collected for one purpose it cannot be shared for another in another paragraph. I'll leave that one to the courts, I don't share tenant data readily.

Jude57

jio331999 said:

Sorry I just realised there is extra information I haven't added: I am eligible for the single person discount. Do I need to pay the debt collection company the full amount and then try to get the value of the discount back? Or should I try to get them to take the discount from the amount I owe first? If it is the latter, do I try to arrange this with the debt collection agency or with 

Contact the Council Tax team about the discount because only they can award it. Be aware that they may require proof and until that's provided to their satisfaction, no discount will be awarded. I echo the recommendation to pay the debt collectors in full and argue for the discount and refund with the Council Tax team separately.

Can I ask, does the letter you received refer to a Liability Order? It's possible from the timescale you set out that the debt has simply been passed quickly to debt collectors rather than the Council having taken the more expensive and time consuming Statutory process for recovery. They can do either or both. From your perspective, if a Liability Order has been granted by Magistrates, the Council have a range of recovery options, some of which are pretty onerous, such as Attachment of Earnings where your employer is required to deduct a percentage of your salary (as set out in legislation and regulations, there's no negotiating the amount) to clear the debt. Or they can pass the debt to bailiffs. Or they can place a charge against a property you own. Or they can apply to have you declared Bankrupt. Or, ultimately, they can seek to have you imprisoned which, although a last resort, does happen and unfortunately, the prison sentence doesn't clear the debt, so the Council could go down any of the other routes until they get their money. Despite all that, Council Tax debts don't appear on your Credit record because Councils don't report the information to Credit Reference companies and, frankly, the numbers involved mean that the companies aren't scouring Court lists. However, if a Council Tax debt is simply referred to a debt collection agency, (not Certificated Bailiffs) that agency may, and many do, report that to the Credit Reference companies. It's an odd anomaly because consumer debts which result in a County Court Judgment will definitely be reported and will, as you know, affect lending decisions so a £100 CCJ could scupper a mortgage application whereas a multi-thousand pound Council Tax debt won't because it won't be reported.

It's a tough lesson you've learned but nothing that can't be resolved.

ETA I worked in Council Tax recovery for over a decade.