10k backdated unpaid council tax, what do I do?

[CTfuckup]

Been living in staff accom for over 7 years, was never informed I had to pay council tax, moved in at 19, believed it fell under the business address as I didn't have a postal address of my own I.e post doesn't come to my house, private bin collection not council. My rent has come straight out my salary. I've saved hard and I've just bought my first house, contacted council to arrange to pay council tax for house and it's all come about that I owe them £10k. I don't have it, I've just spent every penny of my savings on a house deposit, my monthly outgoings are about to sky rocket as staff accom was cheap and all inclusive and I'm now paying mortgage, CT, bills etc for the first time. What do I do? I have a toddler who is in very expensive nursery. I work all the hours I can. I've cried all day.

*excuse any grammatical errors, I've just woken from my granny nap 😴

Yes, they cannot sue you for debts of over 6 years

Also agree with suggestion of PP for you to ask them when they sent you a bill in the relevant period.

Council tax for attached properties can be a bit if a minefield. If you have legal cover with your home insurance see if it will cover getting advice on liability for this. Alternatively Google your town/city name and ”law clinic” or “law centre” which may be available for free advice. Whilst it might be the ultimate option don’t talk about payment plans with them quite yet as that is tantamount to admitting liability and I’m not sure you know enough at this point to do that

Hope you get good advice and you can get this sorted.
Don't be too quick to be compliant with the council.

Councils near us are financially struggling, company's going bust and thus less paying rates. They are pulling out all the stops to get hold of any money they can!

A good solicitor may be able to argue /negotiate that as they haven't contacted ..... and it's so long ago...... at worst your'll pay a tiny amount?

This doesn’t add up, you moved in at 19 which was 7 years ago but finished paying your DMP 6 years ago?, or have I misunderstood?

I've just had an email from my company saying that in the small print of all rent agreements including mine it says that we are liable for any council tax if that property requires it, mine is the only accom that does which is why others who live there didn't pay either but I do. I still don't understand though as no one ever sent me a bill, statement or asked me for it. Work never mentioned it. I moved into the accom from my parents house I didn't know I had to phone the council I hadn't done anything like it before. Can I really be liable for this much money for not knowing I needed to phone them? I fully appreciate that you can't play dumb and get out of things, but that's never been my intention and the second I moved into a property where I knew I was liable for my council tax ie my own house I phoned them to arrange to do so. It's all just a huge miscommunication somewhere. I'm so upset

Ah this is awful!! I really hope it gets sorted for you, I think it’s a fair assumption to expect your work to pay for it. Especially because you haven’t had anything through. Within days of us moving into our house we were having letters through.

Before you do all of these things going to lawyers, please really do check your service occupancy agreement or licence to occupy and the liabilities it sets out. If it’s a large company you must have had one, if it doesn’t specifically exclude council tax from bills/outgoings I’d just pass it onto your employer and save yourself the worry and legal costs. (I write service occupancy agreements for my work and have lived in lots of staff accommodation!)

Have you got a copy of the contract to double check?

It’s shit but it’s not the end of the world. They can’t make you pay what you haven’t physically got and they won’t make you sell your house. They could set up a payment plan or they could potentially put a marker on your house to claim it when you sell.

@IWantAllTheDogsInTheWorld

Something doesn't add up here.

Are they saying that for 7 years there has been a void period where no council tax has been paid at all? If so, why has a council tax inspector not been able to discover someone living there or had the accommodation been covered by business rates and has therefore been paid within the business rates bill and the Clerk moving you "out" has made an error.

If they are saying there HASN'T been a void period and it wasn't covered by business rates and the property didn't flag up for inspection then that means either CT bills must been paid by the the business you work for when they had no liability (and therefore that money will now be refunded back to your employer) and the Council will now charge you, or that the property has produced no council tax income for the council which would take us back to the first point, why was this not flagged for inspection?

I don't understand how a previous CT paying property stopped bringing income which would have flagged up on a computer report, seemingly not even flagged as a long term "empty" property, as even empty property as a CT liability (for Council Tax inspectors to check) and no one from the Council sent debt collectors etc to force payment and/or the occupier to court if bills were being sent but not paid.

I certainly would be asking a lot more questions.

^ This, I used to work in council tax and something weird has happened.

I am thinking that it went something like this - person before you paid the council tax, moved out, property went down as unoccupied and unfurnished which would create a bill in someone's name, as someone has to be named and liable should the charge change, but it has remained in a zero charge bill for 7 years. You contact them about your new address, give the old address and they realise it has been sat on a zero charge. Or they billed the company on an occupied rate, they have been paying it and someone at the council has put your name on instead and made the company account in credit and passed the debt to you.

Who told you the previous occupier paid the council tax bill?

Two issues, one - why the hell wasn't this property inspected (standard practise) to make sure it was still empty if it was down on the system as empty and sorry but 7 years is beyond incompetent. Secondly, a bill is produced every year and sent somewhere and I would want to know where that was going, they will claim that is confidential but I bet you it went to the company you work for. They have to issue bills every March.

First things first, check your contract with the company to see what bills you were liable for. Secondly, contact CAB. Do not take this lying down, this is sheer incompetence in my opinion on behalf of the council.

There are set procedures in place to collect monies owed, everything from how many reminders, final notices etc are sent and what investigations should happen. Something is not quite right with this. Don't panic.

You are going to have to negotiate a repayment plan and pay as much as you possibly can afford otherwise this will be hanging around you forever.

Cross posted with you. Still definitely book an appointment with CAB and see what they suggest.

Something similar happened to me years ago, I didn't pay council tax for a long time and they then sent me a huge bill, I challenged it, with numerous letters going back and forth and it came to me telling them they'd have to take me to court, they wrote it off, it wasn't worth them pursuing it and paying court fees.

I'd have a go at going down this route if I were you as you've not done it purposely.

There’s some straight up bullshit answers on here, the business is responsible, don’t admit liability etc? That’s not how it works

Op, are you saying that you’ve now provided yout previous address and they have seen you’ve never paid council tax and it was due, and you never informed them you were living there?

Council tax is due by the occupier. Not the property owner unless they agree to this. Looks like an oversight on your behalf.

I’d contact the bodies stated, you are likely to be able to get a manageable payment plan.

@2me2u2u2me

Something similar happened to me years ago, I didn't pay council tax for a long time and they then sent me a huge bill, I challenged it, with numerous letters going back and forth and it came to me telling them they'd have to take me to court, they wrote it off, it wasn't worth them pursuing it and paying court fees.

I'd have a go at going down this route if I were you as you've not done it purposely.

Please don't encourage op to believe the council will blithely agree to write off ten grand of a perfectly recoverable debt.

Thank you everyone. Yes something has gone massively wrong for it to go unnoticed for 7 years and it just seems so unfair to have to pay for it now when I have my own house to pay for too. It will be a struggle to manage mortgage, bills, council tax x2 and nursery fees etc. Just means we will be pinching pennies once again when I thought those days were behind me. If at any point in the last 7 years I'd had a bill then I would of started paying I've been blissfully unaware and feel like an absolute idiot. I haven't seen a copy of my rental agreement in years, again feeling like an idiot for that but the copy they've just emailed me does say that I'm liable for council tax IF the property requires it. I will have to seek legal advice thank you

It could be a scam.

I would want a detailed summary from the council. If they have never issued a bill, then I can't see that you could be liable for the debt.

See CAB but be aware that this organisation does give standard replies that are available on the webpage and they take down lots of details.

Personally, I'd see a solicitor.

Every time we have moved house we have had a letter from the ocuncil address to 'the Present Occupier' asking us to give our details to the council tax team, also each taxable property has its own reference number, so please ask for copies of the amounts they're demanding to check the basis on which they are calculated.

Don’t pay or agree a payment plan until you’ve taken legal advice (not on here obviously), as you may not be liable for all/any of it.

The onus is on the occupier to tell the council, not for the council to catch the occupier. If they were told the property was empty and then the op never told them she’d moved in and her rental agreement says she’s liable then the error is hers. Arguably the council could have kept checking but it doesn’t absolve the op of the debt.

I would fight this OP. It sounds like a council screw up and now they're just trying to collect from you. I can't see how you can be liable for bills they haven't issued or pursued.

I doubt the council will just right it off. We’d all avoid paying council tax if that’s how it worked. You’ll have to pay it, but they’ll accept it in payments. Surely you have money saved to decorate your new house, buy furniture etc.?

I am glad you are seeking legal advice.

It does not sound clear cut at all.

I have worked in Council Tax, for many different councils.

So here's what will have happened, they will have been sending bills somewhere. Now you've moved address they will have traced you to your new address and that's why you will have received bills. Contact the council and ask where bills have been going in the past.

If they have not billed you correctly they can only backdate the arrears by 6 years. Ask what stage of recovery the arrears are at.

Did you have a tenancy agreement for the whole property or was it a shared house? Did you live alone? If so check Single Person Discount has been awarded. They may or may not agree to this, they do not have to as you did not apply at the time.

Next ask to make a payment plan. With many councils, as long as you are keeping your current year up to date they will usually be lenient with chipping away at arrears.

I wouldn't waste money on solicitors, although CAB can be helpful. It is a tax so not negotiable like many debts. But it is best to speak to the Council Tax department directly, anyone else us just a go between.

I’d firstly make sure it’s banded correctly not taking into account any of the business premises. I’ve know of a property that an under butler lived in attached to the main mansion house. It turned out they’d banded it incorrectly and included a huge proportion of the mansion house in his calculations when it was banded. He’d been paying it the whole time without questioning it. Also if you were living alone make sure you get your 25% reduction.