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Original poster

Gazundering buyer in contact 3 months after completion asking me to pay

62 replies

Binsnet · 13/10/2023 11:36

My buyer, who was a major PITA, has been in touch, 3 months post completion through the EA, asking for my address so they can forward a council tax bill for the (I'm assuming)18 days council tax that was under my ownership because they delayed the sale.
What would you do?

OP posts:

Ilovegoldies · 13/10/2023 11:37

I'd contact the council yourself. Annoying as it is the council WILL take you court for a small amount and you are liable.

MiniBossFromAus · 13/10/2023 11:38

Tell the estate agent they are NOT to share your personal details and forget about it.

Cheeky fucker at work.

rwalker · 13/10/2023 11:39

Pay it
it’s in your name and they will peruse you for it and fuck your credit rating

higgledypup · 13/10/2023 11:40

You owe it, you need to pay it as annoying as that is.
Not sure why you need to ask what to do.

shiningstar2 · 13/10/2023 11:42

I would find out what the legal position is. If you lived there and the legal position is that it is you bill I would pay it. I've no idea how these things work though so you may have no legal liability. I think that whether or not they were pita is not really the issue here
The issue is whether it is your legal responsibility or not. If they are pita people I would want this cleared up quickly so I could have as little to do with them as possible.

CoffeeBeansGalore · 13/10/2023 11:42

Contact the council tax office and clarify what the bill is actually for. If it is for time you were still living in the house then it is your responsibility to pay for it.

Anything else is the new occupant's responsibility.

AnSolas · 13/10/2023 11:43

Instruct the EA to not give out the information. But expect that the buyer will contact your solicitor.

Check that your sales contract has no clause on the buyer being liable.
If not contact the LA directly and pay what is due.

And double check that you have closed down any other services and paid the final amount.

FallingAutumnLeaf · 13/10/2023 11:46

Did you own the house for those 18 days? If so, you owe the council tax.
Contact the council directly to see what, if anything, you owe.
Ask the estate agent not to give your details to the buyer

PinkRoses1245 · 13/10/2023 11:46

I'd pay it, if you owned the property for the the period being billed. It's your liability, the council won't care if the sale was delayed.

Twiglets1 · 13/10/2023 11:48

I would pay it through the council and tell the EA to tell them it’s being dealt with and not to give them your address. It is your liability unfortunately.

AsBeautifulAsYou · 13/10/2023 11:50

It is 18 days and the one debt that can get you sent to actual prison is council tax debt as opposed to just bailiffs seizing goods. Don’t waste your time contacting the council the house was legally yours.

VineRipened · 13/10/2023 11:53

Tell them to forward it via your solicitor.

Then pay it.

You owe it to the council, your bins were collected, the fire brigade would have come if needed, and you would have needed to pay CT somewhere during those 18 days, the irritating delay to the sale is irrelevant.

Boozlebammed · 13/10/2023 11:58

The council should be billing you directly for this amount. You should not pay any bill in their name as they could get it readjusted and claim a refund and you'd need to pay again. Contact the council to check their dates are correct. You are liable until you sold the property, although if you moved out prior to the sale date you can often claim a discount for the first month that a property is empty and unfurnished.

ClematisBlue49 · 13/10/2023 12:22

Did you remember to get your mail redirected? If it was addressed to you, then you should have received it at your new address.

Against that, I suppose it's possible that it's just addressed to 'The Householder'...

Like others have said, you are liable, but you need to make sure the new owner doesn't get hold of your details. Ask the EA to forward the bill on - don't delay things by making them go through solicitors.

StrictlyComeback · 13/10/2023 12:55

I don’t understand why you stopped paying your council tax before you moved out. Who do you expect to pay the 18 days on the house you moved to? Presumably the seller paid that so why would you think you don’t have to pay this?

ApathyMartha · 13/10/2023 12:56

Did you tell them the date you moved? They would calculate it up to that date (as with most other suppliers, water etc) and charge you accordingly. Likewise your buyers should have informed them the date they moved in. Most ask for a forwarding address if you’ve been in touch

TomatoSandwiches · 13/10/2023 12:57

Why do you think you don't have to pay it?

ActDottie · 13/10/2023 12:57

Contact the council to pay it. If the house was yours for those 18 days then you do still have to pay it.

InTheRainOnATrain · 13/10/2023 12:59

Contact the council and pay it. Also get a mail redirection.

hettiethehare · 13/10/2023 13:05

Presumably you contacted the council after you moved to confirm the date you sold the property so they could send you a final invoice to your new address?

Horriblewoman · 13/10/2023 13:06

From what you’ve shared it sounds like like you still owned the house?

sales are delayed for all sorts of reasons but that doesn’t mean you can opt out of paying council tax because you think you should have sold two weeks earlier!

TenderDandelions · 13/10/2023 13:11

If the sale was delayed, presumably you saved 18 days council tax on the next place you bought?

Just because the buyer was a PITA, it doesn't stop you being liable for a bill for the period you still owned in and lived in a property.

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 13/10/2023 13:15

So were you still the legal owner of the property for those days then? You’re liable, so you might as well pay it, but no need to let have your address or details, just contact the relevant LA and pay directly.
For council tax, you are liable, they will track you down, and they will fine or prosecute, they’re like Liam Neeson in that respect.

Iris1976 · 13/10/2023 13:18

If it was under your name but empty you won't have to pay but do need to contact council to clear it up

GasPanic · 13/10/2023 13:19

I would contact the council and find out whether I was liable to pay, and if so I would.

If you choose not to, then you take your chances. Maybe they will not bother to pursue such a small sum. Or maybe they will.

Councils can be pretty aggressive about debt collection and the consequences can be far reaching.

I am not sure about the claim of "the buyers delayed the sale" but this depends on your particular situation. Normally in a gazundering situation it is the seller that delays the sale (as a consequence of not accepting new terms offered by the buyer), not the buyer.

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