Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 years?

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Personally,,if it was me,,I'd check my credit files (Equifax etc,,the other guys on here know more about that than me)..and I'd make darn sure quickly that my name was on NOTHING associated with that address.I hope for your sake nothing has been done to cause you grief but get it checked and sorted as soon as possible.

[bluebottle]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

SAR = Subject Access Request

It is made under Section 7, Data Protection Act 1998. Any non-compliance with an SAR should be reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Be careful with Common Law, Freeman on the Land remedies, you could come seriously unstuck with those. By leaving your payment card with your sister, the HA would have thought you were still resident, and therefore so would the council, professional legal advice is essential now.

As Bizzy says,,get legal advice as soon as possible. You only have the word of the other people you refer to that the HA let them stay for whatever reason,and it's not applicable to you ( as in,,won't help you)
I live in an HA property and if I leave I have to inform them in writing and get acknowledgement from them of the date my tenancy ends. I cannot 'sub let' my property nor allow my son to stay here without formal agreement (they would draw up a totally new tenancy agreement and they also don't have to allow it to happen).
And seriously reconsider the FMOL course of action,,it only buys time,,and delays the inevitable.
As I said,,you really need good legal advice as soon as possible,,and you need proof the HA allowed you to 'pass the tenancy' over.

[Louby-Lou]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Sorry, the above post was supposed to contain Ian's post, and I don't yet know how to remove a quote I have inserted and insert another.

[Louby-Lou]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Sound advice.

Yes, it is 2011 - 12 that I am being told to pay. I can, at least, prove that I have lived elsewhere over the years.
What is a SAR, Bluebottle? If it is a search of some sort, I reckon, lol, everything still be in my name. At a guess, I reckon the lodger(s) lost their job and was too afraid to apply for benefits so just stopped paying everything until evicted through repossession - but it's only a guess. Now wondering what else might be in my name that hasn't been paid. Utilities? A string of credit cards? It's got me thinking now. )-:

[Louby-Lou]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

It would be a last resort, Scottie; if they won't accept my proof, and if the Law Centre can't help, and an MP won't step in, then it seems to me that, as a last resort, I'd have nothing to lose.

[Louby-Lou]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Do you now pay council tax? Do you appear on the Electoral Roll?


You were the tenant. Your sister lived with you.
You moved out, your sister remained.
Lodgers moved in and paid her, then she paid the rent.
She moved out, leaving the lodgers.

Did the HA know about all of this?

As of 4 or 5 years ago, yes.
It might sound odd, but a few doors down from where I lived at the time, a couple with 6 kids moved in. Several months later we got chatting with them and they told us their tale of woe: they were living in a HA property - but they were paying a private LL. It turned out that matey (the tenant) had moved back to his own country and was pocketing the rent money. The HA arrived at their doorstep with a summons and all was revealed.
I only mention it because the HA allowed them to stay even though they had no contract with them. It is as though their attitude was, 'well, the rent's being paid so we'll turn a blind eye.'

As I said in my op, I had a phone conversation with the HA about 5 years ago and they knew I wasn't there. It would appear that as the rent was being paid, they turned a blind eye.
Even if they claim they didn't know, can a LL reasonably claim not to have visited a HA property in 10 years?
As for now, yes, I pay full council tax. I have just printed off my last 2 tenancy agreements (private LL) to send to the relevant borough.

[bizzybob]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Be careful with Common Law, Freeman on the Land remedies, you could come seriously unstuck with those. By leaving your payment card with your sister, the HA would have thought you were still resident, and therefore so would the council, professional legal advice is essential now.

[Louby-Lou]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Thanks guys...but not so straight forward.
When I left my 'little' sister in charge, I left her with an ATM type card issued by the housing association. I can't remember exactly how it works now (after 10 years), but I think you insert the card and it transfers your cash to their account, or something like that. (A bit like going to a British Rail station and inserting cash into a machine for a ticket.) It's a very long time ago, and I can't remember how it works.:tinysmile_cry_t: This means, potentially, that there is no actual proof of who has paid the rent, or indeed the council tax. (?)
I've written a pretty acidic letter to the council regarding the Council Tax. Would someone be prepared to PM me to have a look? (I want to post it tomorrow.)
The tenancy is, pragmatically, a separate issue and will have to be dealt with separately.
I have taken the superb advice on here already by emailing my issues to my local law centre (yesterday), but as yet I have not had a response.
I will, if necessary, revert to common law where the bailiffs are concerned, so any additional advice in that department is also welcomed. (-;

[bluebottle]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

""I have now been billed with both the Council Tax for 2011 and the rent arrears.""

If this is all they are chasing you for then all you have to prove is that you were living and paying all bills somewhere else, including CT, in 2011. Anything before that is irrelevant.

They knew 5 years ago that you no longer lived there as one of the tenants was attempting to take over the tenancy legally so their argument is very weak as to making you liable for 2011's bills.

Submit a SAR to the council for the last 6 years CT and see whose name is on the previous years that were paid.

Sound advice.

[IanM]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

""I have now been billed with both the Council Tax for 2011 and the rent arrears.""

If this is all they are chasing you for then all you have to prove is that you were living and paying all bills somewhere else, including CT, in 2011. Anything before that is irrelevant.

They knew 5 years ago that you no longer lived there as one of the tenants was attempting to take over the tenancy legally so their argument is very weak as to making you liable for 2011's bills.

Submit a SAR to the council for the last 6 years CT and see whose name is on the previous years that were paid.

[bizzybob]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Anything that proves you were not resident within the council's boundary is fine. However, you do need to answer Enquirer's questions.

Exactly, to ground your case you need proof from the HA they knew you were now no longer resident, so the tenancy was transferred from your name.

[bluebottle]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Many thanks for the advice! Lol, I'd better not tell them to go swivel though!
I can't send proof of when I moved out (10 years ago), but should be okay for proof stemming back about three years ago. Would an old CRB document do?
Anyone able to offer advice on the tenancy issue?

Anything that proves you were not resident within the council's boundary is fine. However, you do need to answer Enquirer's questions.

[enquirer]

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Many thanks for the advice! Lol, I'd better not tell them to go swivel though!
I can't send proof of when I moved out (10 years ago), but should be okay for proof stemming back about three years ago. Would an old CRB document do?

Do you now pay council tax? Do you appear on the Electoral Roll?

Anyone able to offer advice on the tenancy issue?

You were the tenant. Your sister lived with you.
You moved out, your sister remained.
Lodgers moved in and paid her, then she paid the rent.
She moved out, leaving the lodgers.

Did the HA know about all of this?

Re: Liable for council tax and in a property I haven't stepped foot in for over 10 ye

Did you inform the HA that you were leaving the property?