Is council likely to help re council tax?

[TetherEndOfMy]

I was forced to move by my landlord. He was refusing to do repairs, tried to up the rent by 150pm and the house was unliveable for me and my son. Doors falling off hinges, electrics doing dodgy things etc. I had to move and a place came up. It is perfect and I couldn't lose it. I took it as it is near impossible to get somewhere after putting offers in on over 10 other properties and being denied (lone parent on universal credit, sigh...). There was a crossover of 1 month with both houses. I thought I could afford it but the reality is I can't. I can't afford both council tax bills and I'm going deeper into my overdraft. Will the council be likely to allow me to pay in installments if I explain my situation?

Another here that was "liable" for 2 Council tax bills during a crossover of about 6 weeks. (Moving from rented to owned.)

However, the council gave an exemption for the first property once I'd moved the furniture out. They were different councils, so asked for proof of when I moved - a utility bill for new property, IIRC. My tenancy hadn't yet ended and I still had the keys, but as it was now unfurnished, they issued a new bill with the exemption from my move date.

Not all councils do this, but do please contact them to be sure, or to work out a payment plan.

Wow. I just spoke to the council and they said I can't arrange a payment plan until I've let it default and have received a court summons. Can't believe they won't help. Discretionary housing payment scheme has run out of money so doesn't start again until April. I'm screwed then.

For my council, they used to have an exemption policy for empty properties but they got rid of it in the couple of years :( I didn’t pay when I had this situation in 2018 but I had to last year.
rubbish.
they really should let you do a payment plan if you have to pay though, I imagine they are used to setting up a variety of arrangements

CT is normally paid over 10 months , so you may get a rebate on old property.

If you don't want to fight your liability and just want to be allowed to pay more slowly, then pay the CT on the new property in full, default on the amount due on the old property but make a payment of maybe 1/12th of the amount due. To be honest, it will probably take the council months to get around to concluding their process of chasing up the debt and initating the process of giving you a court summons, so if you continue to pay 1/12th of the outstanding amount every month it is likely that you will have paid off the debt by the time they get their act together. It won't be an official "payment plan" but will have the same effect.

And you are liable until lease ends and cannot cancel it until then.

I would prioritise paying the bill on the new place and not the final bill on the old one. Wait for the reminders and pay it off later. Council can be quick on summons but I would pay off what you can when you can. We had a summons and had the option to reply to it with an income and expense and payment offer which was accepted.

However pretty sure you are, doesn't change facts. It is perfectly possible for this to happen. As pp have said, op needs to talk to the council amd come to an arrangement

A lot of councils will give a up to 6 month exemption for an empty property. If one of the properties is empty of furniture you should be able to apply for it to be exempt from council tax for the period of time you are liable but not living there.

Yes, that's pretty much what I suggested too, several posts back.

Why are doors hanging off? I have never had a door fall off by itself in the 30 years I’ve lived in my house.

You won't be liable for council tax on both properties. Ring the council tax and give them dates you moved out/moved in. Its pretty straightforward. If you still can't afford it, they msy make an arrangement however it does need to be paid before year end