Council tax charge against land

[Dancingbea]

I co-own a flat with my sister that we inherited from my dad. I have never lived there. My sister has been living there for the past 15 years with her husband. She is vulnerable, mentally very unwell, alcoholic, and in receipt of universal credit. For the avoidance of doubt I receive no rental income from them for the flat.
They manage day to day, food, bills (or so I thought) just about. I have sorted issues with the flat when they have arisen. However it now transpires they have not been paying council tax, have ignored various warnings and it has ended up with a magistrate, with a charge order against the land for missed payments relating going back more than a decade.
In the papers they received i have been named as a defendant as my name is on the land registry.
basically i just want to sort this out (and i also don’t want any kind of record against me) pay off the debt, and make sure they are properly paying going forward. As far as i understand it, I am not personally liable for council tax as I have never lived there and it has always been occupied by her. But now it has gone this far and through a court, and I am also somehow implicated?
Before I phone the lawyers who have sent the paperwork tomorrow, I wondered if there was anything I should be aware of. I have a lot on in my life as is and I find this very stressful.
thanks in advance.

Is the husband mentally ill as well?

I don't know if you are liable, but I hope not. Definitely speak to a solicitor!
Is there any chance of your sister & her DH accepting responsibility for their lack of managing their finances? My worry would be that you pay off this for them, then 5 years time you're back in the same situation.

Edit: removed reference to previous edited post.

He is also an alcoholic but has no diagnosed mental health disorder as far as I know. She is bipolar and has previously been sectioned under the mental health act.

My friend has Bi polar and other mental health issues..
He doesn't pay Council tax..
www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/can-i-claim-welfare-benefits-if-i-m-living-with-a-mental-illness/council-tax-exemptions-and-support-to-pay/

I think you could be liable as you do own a second home. Do you have a tenancy agreement with your sister and her husband?

You don’t pay council tax if you’re on benefits. (Or it’s heavily reduced to buttons). They are idiots. It’s just a form you complete.

If only that was still the case.

Most councils expect people on means tested benefits to pay 20-25%.

Are the Council aware of your sister's problems?

I'd start by contacting them and explaining.

@RentalWoesNotFundepends on the area. Where I nice you have to pay 50% of the bill if on benefits

If your sister has been diagnosed with Bipolar, she will be classified as having serious mental impairment. She will be discounted for Council Tax purposes. This can be backdated to the date of her diagnosis. If it just her and her husband living there, he will then qualify for single person discount. You need to speak to the Council, they might quote GDPR at you though as you are non resident.

I don’t believe you’re liable. The charge will be against your sisters share of the property, to be repaid when you sell or she dies.

it’s not your debt. Empty home second home etc Shouldn’t be relevant.

this was the situation with my sister and her husband were in (different debt, but it was tax so just as aggressive in collection) the charge couldn’t be greater than 50% of the value of the house as 50% was hers and she didn’t owe the money. Her share came before theirs

Thanks everyone for your help. The letter has come from a legal firm acting on behalf of the council, but sounds like maybe the council should be my first port of call to explain the situation.

The council need to tell you there will be a charge against an asset you part own, they won’t it awarded without doing so. I mean, they’ll love it if you offer to pay, but you’re under no obligation to

Some nonsense advice given so far - if you don't know, don't comment.

If your sister and her partner are living there, you're not legally liable, they are. Dispute the charges and say the occupants should be liable.

Whether they have a tenancy agreement or not is irrelevant, they're liable under Section 6(2)(e) of the Local Government Finance 1992 and you co-owning the flat has no legal relevance in that case.

If the property is empty, you owe the money and have to pay.

If they are placing a charging order on the property, it should be in the name of your sister, not yours. Still has the same affect though, debt is paid before you both get any money should you sell the property.