Council Tax on vacated property

wundawoman · 17 September 2018 at 5:32PM

Should I be paying an additional council tax bill after moving out and surrendering the keys to the landlord of my flat. He is requesting that I pay the council tax for the 2 month notice period, even though I had surrendered the keys to the letting agency at the beginning of the two month notice period as I was moving to Belgium and would have no access to the Flat.

I have contacted the council, and they agree that I am not owing any council tax to them as I had no means to access the property, and they have also provided me with a final account statement .

I am not keen to pay the amount being asked because I don't think it's my responsibility as I had surrendered the keys and responsibility back to the landlord/letting agency.

My deposit is still being retained because of this issue, so I would like it resolved soon.

Thanks

Rambosmum · 17 September 2018 at 5:35PM

You are liable for the whole of your contract, unless agreed otherwise with the landlord (or they re-let before your notice period was up, though you would have to agree this was ok).

Cakeguts · 17 September 2018 at 6:09PM

Your tenancy doesn't end until the end of the two months notice so who do you think should pay the council tax? Just giving the keys back doesn't unless the landlord or his agent agreed to the surrender mean that you have ended your tenancy.

A tenancy agreement is a contract both parties to the contract have to agree to anything that changes.

davidmcn · 17 September 2018 at 6:15PM

It's not clear from the OP, but perhaps the landlord wanting to be compensated for losing vacant property entitlement if the tenant has claimed it? In which case no, he's not due to be paid that unless it said so in the tenancy agreement.

saajan_12 · 17 September 2018 at 6:50PM

wundawoman wrote: »

Should I be paying an additional council tax bill after moving out and surrendering the keys to the landlord of my flat. - did you choose to surrender or was a mutual surrender agreed with the LL and what date was this? He is requesting that I pay the council tax for the 2 month notice period, - well if it was a notice period, then your tenancy ends at the end of the notice, so you'd be liable for your obligations including bills, council tax until the notice ends. Also if 2 months notice then sounds like it wasn't a SPT.. even though I had surrendered the keys to the letting agency at the beginning of the two month notice period as I was moving to Belgium and would have no access to the Flat.- You choosing to return keys and not give yourself access isn't really relevant, its the same as being on holiday.. you still pay for any bills during that period.

I have contacted the council, and they agree that I am not owing any council tax to them as I had no means to access the property, and they have also provided me with a final account statement .
- the council don't see your contract. Also, depending on the terms you agreed, the council MAY not deem you responsible but you may have agreed to repay the LL.

I am not keen to pay the amount being asked because I don't think it's my responsibility as I had surrendered the keys and responsibility back to the landlord/letting agency. - returning keys doesn't terminate your responsibility, and you can't unilatterally decide to terminate your responsibility. What was agreed with the LL?

My deposit is still being retained because of this issue, so I would like it resolved soon. - is the deposit higher than the 2 months council tax? Is the LL claiming any other deductions? Write to the LL asking them to return the "undisputed portion" of the deposit while you discuss the amount for council tax etc.

Thanks

Two key questions:
What sort of tenancy did you have:
- if fixed term then when does it end and was there any break clause?
- if periodic, was it a CPT or SPT (I assume not SPT given 2 months notice)? Please quote any terms about notice

How was the tenancy terminated:
- did you serve notice per a break clause / during periodic tenancy?
- did LL serve notice per a break clause / after fixed term / during periodic tenancy?
- did you and LL mutually agree an early termination? what were the terms?

Generally, if there was a mutual surrender negotiated then each party's liability depends on what was agreed. If the tenancy was terminated through a notice clause in the original contract, and it wasn't a SPT, then you and LL are bound by all obligations until the notice expires and tenancy ends, including your obligations to pay rent, bills, council tax, report issues, keep in good condition..

wundawoman · 18 September 2018 at 12:28PM

Thanks for your help. My intention was to pay if I SHOULD. I just wanted to make sure as I had done some online research and all the information stops at the point you physically move out, nothing extra.

Looks like I'll be paying the council tax, but at least now I understand for the future.

Really appreciate it:beer:

wundawoman · 24 September 2018 at 8:34PM

Update: As per the responses above I phoned the council expecting to pay the outstanding bill and was told by a different person that it was the landlords responsibility to apply to transfer the amount into my name (as he was named on the council tax bill), and at the same time he would need to provide information to the council (lease, check-out inventory, copy of receipts) and anything else to help them make their decision.
Landlord was immediately informed, and chose to ignore the process, pay the bill and is trying to take it out of my deposit. I strongly suspect its because there was no checkout inventory completed, and receipts of rent payment have been provided, despite my requests.

It's now gone to be disputed with the TDS.

saajan_12 · 25 September 2018 at 9:35AM

wundawoman wrote: »

I have contacted the council, and they agree that I am not owing any council tax to them as I had no means to access the property, and they have also provided me with a final account statement .

wundawoman wrote: »

Update: As per the responses above I phoned the council expecting to pay the outstanding bill and was told by a different person that it was the landlords responsibility to apply to transfer the amount into my name (as he was named on the council tax bill), and at the same time he would need to provide information to the council (lease, check-out inventory, copy of receipts) and anything else to help them make their decision.
Landlord was immediately informed, and chose to ignore the process, pay the bill and is trying to take it out of my deposit. I strongly suspect its because there was no checkout inventory completed, and receipts of rent payment have been provided, despite my requests.

It's now gone to be disputed with the TDS.

The issue only arose because you closed your account with the council early and they defaulted to the LL. The council is now looking for an inordinate amount of proof from the LL (check out has nothing to do with them and it may be smart but LL has no obligation to have a written lease / check out / rent receipts). It is understandable that he would rather start paying the council early and you reimburse for 2 months rather than transfer the account back to you, and then back to LL.

What's the issue with agreeing a deduction from your deposit in the same amount as what you would have paid the council? Why send it to TDS?

wundawoman · 25 September 2018 at 8:59PM

Because he's refusing to pay back any of my deposit, not just the disputed portion. Thats enough reason to go to the TDS surely.

CIS · 25 September 2018 at 9:21PM

Legally, until the council make another decision the landlord is responsible for the council tax charge but that doesn't mean that it can't be revised. You may well find the council come back to you with the charge once the decision has been looked at.

It may be that you are liable for the charge but you haven't previously posted enough information for that to be determined. Time will tell.

You may also find that, even if you didn't remain liable for the council tax charge, as you were still in a tenancy you had a contractual agreement to indemnify the landlord for the expense.

wundawoman · 30 September 2018 at 12:02PM

@CIS
Thanks for the information. I'll update the thread when the TDS had completed their review and add some detail so the thread will be informative.
If that's the route it ends up going down then i'll be happy to follow it and pay whomever I need to. I was happy to follow the councils decision if they had been contacted by my landlord.

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Council Tax on vacated property

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