council tax liability order

[dazgard]

Help me please folks!! On july 7th i had a tenant leave a property. It remained empty with me visiting for the next 6 weeks or so to clear out. I never thought about C.T! It was fully managed by an agent and i assumed they would have informed the council of its vacant state. I then sold the property and didnt go back for the last 8 weeks or so of owning the property.I didnt think there was any need as the property has been rented for many years. All was sold on or around the 20th october and i thought nothing more of it. Then today i recieved a notice of liability order issued on october 14th 2014. It was addressed to me at my home address and not forwarded on from the previous property. This is my first knowledge of this!! Can they issue a liability order without first trying to contact me?? i dont believe(will have to check) that this is the first letter over the years that the council have sent me at my home address, so i think they could probably have contacted me earlier if they'd tried. I would happily have paid the C.T if i had known it was owed,it seems C.T regs changed in 2013 to only allow 1 months exemption and not the normal 6 which i had been used to..no tenancy change for sometime. Can they issue this order without giving me some kind of summons first? Also they have attached a request for personal information under reg 36 requesting bank balances etc. Any advice much appreciated!!!

[nemesis45]

Re: council tax liability order

Yes the council can issue a summons and if it goes unanswered the magistrate will make the order.
It is the owner or tenants responsibility to keep the local authority appraised of the status of the property.

[outlawlgo]

Re: council tax liability order

I would be suspicious if the reminders, summons etc., were sent to the rented property but the notice of liability order sent to your home address.

Is this a trick that billing authorities have up their sleeves to catch landlords out with court costs perhaps?

Do you know how much they added in court costs?

[dazgard]

Re: council tax liability order

No,it doesnt list the court costs seperately,but in terms of C.T,2 months worth i would imagine the maximum amount the C.T could be is £300.Which leaves nearly £300 unnaccounted for-or costs incurred i presume

[outlawlgo]

Re: council tax liability order

See the link to collection rates taken from Communities and Local Government Statistical Release dated 25 June 2009.

FOI 3 costs comparison.xls

The costs therefore are likely to be at least £130.

EDIT:

I suppose you've seen this?

New discounts for council tax

[dazgard]

Re: council tax liability order

Yes ive seen the new discount page now!nice to be kept informed by the council.They can find me easily enough when the amount is right!!! I would assume then that ive been billed for the 3 months C.T plus court costs. I dont suppose i will get the one month taken off, AVDC are not normally easy and reasonable!!

[outlawlgo]

Re: council tax liability order

....Can they issue this order without giving me some kind of summons first?

They have to issue first a reminder and summons in accordance with the relevant regulations, but they have a get-out clause which means effectively that these documents have been properly served if sent to a last known address held by the council. Whether a defendant can ask for a re-hearing on the basis that he was not aware of the court hearing I'm not sure (may be a possibility).

What you might want to do if contesting this is ask that the council hold on enforcement until the issue resolved. My suggestion is to request copies of all correspondence sent, but failing that, ask for dates reminders etc., they were sent – to what address and the name(s) they were addressed to.

If the reminder and / or summons were sent in the name of the tenant(s) I'm pretty sure the liability would have been obtained unlawfully.

[Guest]

Re: council tax liability order

Excellent advice from Outlaw.

I would add that ultimately, you are going to end up liable for the tax, so I would suggest filling out the I & E form and try to negotiate low weekly/monthly payments. If you can prove that the paperwork was sent to to the tenant (in the tenants name) then you have an argument that the LO costs should be removed. It is however important to communicate with the council now, in order to avoid incurring further fees in the form of bailiff charges.

I would telephone the council on Monday. I would ask for confirmation of the info that Outlaw suggested you ask for and I would also offer to make payments of £100 per month towards the arrears. See what they say. You can always follow things up in writing but this window of opportunity to settle without the need to involve bailiffs is very short and you should act now.

[dazgard]

Re: council tax liability order

Thanks for the advice,i was going to call first thing monday anyway...but its always better to be prepared before calling!! I will ask them whose name was on the document.Maybe i can reason with them....but from past experience the council dont bend, its revenue after all!!

[outlawlgo]

Re: council tax liability order

I wouldn't rely on this, but someone might verify whether it's still valid.

The Magistrates' Courts Rules 1981 (SI 1981/552) – Rule 99 Service of summons

Service of summons, etc

99.–(1) Service of a summons issued by a justice of the peace on a person other than a corporation may be effected--

(a) by delivering it to the person to whom it is directed; or

(b) by leaving it for him with some person at his last known or usual place of abode; or

(c) by sending it by post in a letter addressed to him at his last known or usual place of abode.

(2) If the person summoned fails to appear, service of a summons in manner authorised by sub-paragraph (b) or (c) of paragraph (1) shall not be treated as proved unless it is proved that the summons came to his knowledge; and for that purpose any letter or other communication purporting to be written by him or on his behalf in such terms as reasonably to justify the inference that the summons came to his knowledge shall be admissible as evidence of that fact;

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to any summons in respect of a summary offence served in the manner authorised by the said sub-paragraph (c) in a registered letter or by recorded delivery service.

(3)...."