Council Tax

[tapmadi]

ive just bought a flat and I havent moved in yet i intend to let it out ive installed sky and a telephone and furnished the flat ready for tenants - but ive somehow just got billed for council tax but no one lives there yet what shall i do?

[tellboy]

You tell the council it is for lease but not yet occupied. You will not pay anything until it is. Then it is the tenants responsibility nt yours unless you have it in the tenancy agreement stating otherwise.

[funnywebsite]

The flat should of remained unfurnished to get a let off from not paying. See if you can still get a discount of about 10%, but because it is furnished you cannot get a stop to it.

[yummymummy]

Might depend on the policy of your local council, it changed recently so each council could decide how much to charge for a second home.

Not as straightforward as not paying because empty unfortunately, especially if it's furnished.

BTW, the single person discount is 25% (unless it has changed since April!)

[tapmadi]

I did my research and according to the CAB

If only one person lives in a property they will be the liable person. If more than one person lives there, a system called the hierarchy of liability is used to work out who is the liable person. The person at the top, or nearest to the top, of the hierarchy is the liable person. Two people at the same point of the hierarchy will both be liable.



The hierarchy of liability in England is:


a resident who lives in the property and who owns the freehold
a resident who lives in the property and who has a lease or who is an assured or an assured shorthold tenant
a resident who lives in the property and who is a protected, statutory or a secure tenant
a resident who lives in the property and who is a licensee. This means that they are not a tenant, but have permission to stay there
any resident living in the property, for example, a squatter
an owner of the property who does not live there

[tellboy]

In a pickle is correct .Sorry for the error. It was more than 2 years ago when I was renting out a property.I was not aware it had changed.

The reason I stopped letting a property was because of all the hassle with tenants and later on the Inland Revenue so good luck and keep every receipt for absolutely everything.