Unpaid council tax

[orinoco111]

I know for a fact that my tenants have not paid Council Tax since they have lived in the flat. For some reason the LA has no record of the flat. The AST comes to an end next month and they are moving out.

Do/should I inform the LA or is this simply an issue between the tenants and the LA, that I would be better off staying out of? I would rather not get involved but do I run the risk becoming liable for the unpaid tax?

[Nora Kay]

Orinoco
You should confess all to the LA because
1) you are a law-abiding citizen
2) you woudn't want the rest of us to be paying your share of council tax
3) they will catch up with you in the end, and may well slam a big bill on you if you can't prove the property was let.

The choice is yours.........:-)

[Dan]

I'm inclined to agree with Nora. I always make a point of telling the council when tenants move in. When the property is vacant I'm paying the Council Tax anyway.

Make sure that you get a forwarding address for your tenants just in case. I make sure of getting a genuine one by agreeing to forward their deposit to them.

[orinoco111]

Thanks for the posts. I agree with what you say, but am looking for the facts rather than a subjective opinion on the rights and wrongs of unpaid CT.

I do not want to get involved with the LA unless there's a risk I may be liable for the unpaid CT. I can prove the property was let (I have a signed AST etc) and I will get a forwarding address.

So, am I at risk of being liable for the unpaid CT?

[zoe]

LL are never responsible for the bills of the tenants. If the council tax bill is in the tenants name then they are liable.

[orinoco111]

THe LA has no record of the property = a CT bill has never been issued to the tenant.

[Ericthelobster]

As the landlord, I assume that you have had a tenant in paying rent on every single day that you've owned the place, right? If not, then you were obliged to tell the LA about it when you bought it, when it was vacant, and also for any void periods during tenancies.

Yes there are different classes of council tax exemptions for temporarily vacant properties, but all of them require you to apply to the council for exemption rather than keep shtoom, as you seem to have done!

My guess is that as soon as this property appears on the LA radar (and it will do, whether it's courtesy of the next law-abiding tenant you have, or the next purchaser), the LA will instantly start asking questions about prior occupiers, which will affect you directly as far back as the date you bought the property.

Oops?

[nigeldecosta]

I include the council tax in the rent I charge and then pay the LA direct by monthly direct debit. I discussed this with the LA and they were fine about it. Then I know it is being paid and there is no ambiguity in responsibilities...

[zoe]

THe LA has no record of the property

I think the LL should be responsible for doing this !! Why have you not informed the LA before, lucky you will be getting a huge bill.

[orinoco111]

I think the LL should be responsible for doing this !! Why have you not informed the LA before, lucky you will be getting a huge bill.

...but as I implied before...I'm not interested in the moral judgement, rather a commencial one based on fact or experience.

[zoe]

Fact

The owner of the property is responsible for ensuring that the LA bill the property. This is not a morale statement !!! You should have informed the council and then had the bill put in the tenants name.

You should now contact the council and request a bill for the period of your ownership. I can't understand why you had not thought to inform them before.

The tenant is responsible for the bill if that is what you agreed at the outset of the tenancy but you will be resposible for all other periods.

[Jennifer_M]

I'm not interested in the moral judgement

It's not a moral judgement ! You own a house, it probably wasn't occupied on the day you got the keys and that's when you should have informed the council that you were the new owner and that the property was empty so you'd pay the tax YOU owe. The Council would then have a record of the house.

Then when a tenant moves in, you tell them that and then you are not responsible for the tax until the property is empty again.

So if the council has never received any money for that house, your tenant certainly owes them money, but you probably owe them too. And if the council learns about it, they'll come to get their due !