Council Tax Dispute – Liability After Student Moved Out

jlg81

Hi everyone, hoping for some advice.

I appreciate we are not reclaiming Council tax but couldnt find another suitable category for this post. 

My son was a full-time student living in Liverpool in a shared flat. He started university in Sept 2024 and had to leave in November, he left the property on 25 November 2024 due to serious mental health problems and came back home to Northern Ireland. His tenancy technically ran until June 2025 (I was down as his guarantor) but he didn’t live there after November.

The other tenant who stayed on was also a full-time student. We believed (perhaps naively) that meant no Council Tax would be due after my son left.

Liverpool City Council has billed him Council Tax for the period Nov 2024 – June 2025. I appealed in July, sent evidence of his student status, explained he had vacated, and also asked for Council Tax Reduction and a discretionary hardship reduction under Section 13A (we’re all on UC and really struggling).

After nearly 3 months, the Council finally replied, but only to say they couldn’t see the student certificate attached. (I have since sent that back) 

They said once that’s received they’ll apply the student exemption only from Sept to November, but as the course ended in May 2025, the  Council Tax will still be due until the tenancy end date in June 2025. 

They completely ignored my points about liability ending in November and about hardship.

Questions:

1. If my son left in November and wasn’t in occupation, can he still be liable until June just because the tenancy ran on?

2. Does the fact his flatmate was also a student mean the property should have been exempt anyway?  As obviously it seems his flatmate didnt pay any council tax at all. 

3. How do I push the Council to actually consider the hardship request under Section 13A?

4. If the Council refuses, should I go to the Valuation Tribunal, or is there another route?

5. We live in Northern Ireland and have no knowledge of council tax and how it works  – how realistic is enforcement across jurisdictions if we can’t pay in a lump sum due to being on Universal Credit and simply not being able to afford the £1300 approx they are asking for?

Any advice or shared experiences would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks,
James

sgthammer

How did the Council know your son had abandoned his course? His matriculation status for 24/25 shouldn't be affected just because he was skipping classes. What if he'd made a miraculous recovery after Christmas and gone back?

Jude57

I'm a former Council Tax recovery officer so can offer some advice. I'll answer your questions as my former Council would have answered them:

1. Yes he can. The hierarchy of liability for Council Tax means that the tenancy agreement is a proof of liability.
2. No, it doesn't because, from what you say, your son was no longer a full time student after November. He would have become liable for the full Council Tax from the date he ceased to be a full time student but could have applied to have the other adult resident disregarded as a full time student which would have given your son a 25% reduction.
3. Until your son's status is established, I doubt Liverpool Council will even consider the S13A application which might not even be necessary.
4. Unless your son can prove he should not be liable (and point 2 seems to make that unlikely) there's no point trying to appeal via the VOA. They are bound by the same legislation as the Council and if your son was no longer a full time student, then he is no longer able to claim that class of exemption and is liable for and due to pay Council Tax.
5. Enforcement across jurisdictions within the UK is very straightforward because there are reciprocal arrangements in place between the home nations even though the legislation varies. You being in NI is no bar to recovery action I'm afraid. I pursued recovery against people in various European countries, and as far afield as Australia. Reciprocal arrangements vary around the world but it's perfectly possible for a Council to employ a local debt collector if the level of debt justifies it.

A couple of points that I think you may not fully understand. First, and most importantly, if your son left his full time course of study in November, his Student Status Certificate became invalid at that point. The Council will (should!) check with the college/university to establish whether he is entitled to Student exemption for the relevant period - from what you have written, he is not, from November 2024. Second, your status as Guarantor is a private, contractual matter between you and the landlord and has no bearing on Council Tax. Your son is liable, you are not so only his financial situation is relevant to the S13A application. 

Let's say that the Council decide that your son was not a student for Council Tax purposes and Bill him for the period November 2024 to June 2025. Your son could apply for Council Tax Reduction, requesting it be backdated to cover that period. However, the Council are not obliged to backdate because it's the applicant's responsibility to make their application in a timely manner. Many Councils only backdate in exceptional circumstances and only for a maximum of 6 months. If he was refused backdating, your son could THEN apply for S13A relief due to extreme hardship. In that case, I'd recommend enlisting the help of the Councillor representing the Ward your son lived in. Their contact details will be on the Council's website. They can act as  intermediary between you and the Council and can speak face to face with the senior managers who make the decisions. It's not a guarantee that their involvement will get you the outcome you'd prefer but it would be good to have someone fighting your corner.