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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:
Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 13/10/2023 13:20

The council should have your new address - we had to supply both new and old addresses to both the council we were leaving AND the council we moved too.
I would contact the old council direct and get it sorted.
Mail forwarding is a good idea going forward - £70 ish so not to have any further issue incase you’ve forgotten something else.
Agree with everyone above it’s a bill you owe and must pay, jail time and a ruined credit score isn’t worth it.

Calmdown14 · 13/10/2023 13:25

Do you think your feelings about the sale are clouding what seems a reasonable request?

You of course don't need to give them your address but making you aware of this is the right thing to do. That bill has the potential to wreck your credit rating if ignored. The reason it was incurred is irrelevant and presumably your liability for your new property was also delayed by 18 days?

Just contact the council directly and get it sorted - as others have pointed out, councils are aggressive in persuing these to court and have greater powers than say utilities companies.

ClematisBlue49 · 13/10/2023 13:31

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

That's not the case in my area. I've been renovating an empty property for nearly a year and have had to pay full council tax. There is no exemption for empty properties. I think it may vary between LA's.

Lucyintheskywithadiamond · 13/10/2023 14:08

It is your bill so you pay it. unless I have missed something here but I am confused why you have not sorted it out or are you expecting the new owner to pay your bill?

VineRipened · 13/10/2023 14:13

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

In an area I had dealings with there was up to 6 months CT free after the death of the owners, but never heard of empty property being exempt.

Mercurial123 · 13/10/2023 14:56

I just sold my vacant rental. I was responsible for paying council tax until the completion date. YABVU. Surely, you can check your account online to see how much you owe. You did contact the council advising them of your change of circumstances after completion?

Mercurial123 · 13/10/2023 14:57

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.

This is such bad advice.

MiniBossFromAus · 13/10/2023 21:31

Mercurial123 · 13/10/2023 14:57

This is such bad advice.

Show quote history

Yes, the better option is to ask the EA to forward the bill for payment.

I was more saying do not give personal contact information to this person, they will hassle you forever more.

iovebread · 13/10/2023 21:34

you lived in the property regardless of why, you owe council tax like everyone else. The buyer can give the EA's details who will be chased by the council to get your address. The EA WILL give it, believe me. In that time, you would have incurred fines and possibly court attendance. Be an adult

iovebread · 13/10/2023 21:36

Mercurial123 · 13/10/2023 14:57

This is such bad advice.

Show quote history

Agreed, it is absolutely bad advice.
The buyers can get hold of it in other ways and they will need your address should there be any reason to sue you for problems with the house. sellers who think they should not provide their new address are ridiculous and it looks really bad in court to be hiding things so petty.

iovebread · 13/10/2023 21:38

lol "guzundering" to gain sympathy. from who exactly? everyone owes council tax!!

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 13/10/2023 21:45

Did you not ring the council at the time and give them the date you sold, and the date you bought the new place, and get a final bill? Like you would for electricity or gas or whatever?

Someone's got to pay it, and it was your house at the time, so it's your bill.

I'd just say to the EA, no need for it to be forwarded, you'll ring the council when they open and pay anything you owe.

AdoraBell · 13/10/2023 21:48

YY to contacting the council yourself and settle the bill rather then giving the PITA your new address.

Starlightstarbright2 · 13/10/2023 21:51

Ring the council .. regardless of sale delays it wasn’t new owners for those days so you need to sort it .

PeakABoocha · 13/10/2023 22:05

I’d have done a transfer of all mails to my new address.
Then no need for the buyer to have my new address

(fwiw I’ve never given my address to buyers nor have I had tte address of tte old ones….)

Having said that, pay the council tax - you have no choice. It’s one of the cost you incurred from them delaying the sale. You can’t ask them to cover it.
Thank the EA for letting you know. Tell them they can reassure the buyer it has been dealt with.

Ilovelifeverymuch · 13/10/2023 22:06

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.

Please @Binsnet don't forget about it. Yes tell agent not to give your details and reach out directly to the council to confirm and pay. If you ignore it you may end up being taken to court.

Ducksinthebath · 13/10/2023 22:10

Sorry but what has the buyer’s gazundering got to do with you not paying your council tax bill?

Chowtime · 13/10/2023 22:13

Ducksinthebath · 13/10/2023 22:10

Sorry but what has the buyer’s gazundering got to do with you not paying your council tax bill?

😁

The mind boggles.

toomanyboxes · 13/10/2023 22:19

Under no circumstances should the agent give them your address without your permission, that would be a major data protection breach. The buyer can send the bill to the agent, who can then forward it on to you.

Starseeking · 13/10/2023 22:56

Presumably you've already contacted your previous LA to advise on your leaving date?

It's one of the first things I did when moving as having worked for an HA previously, LA's are very quick to prosecute over non payment of council tax.

shams05 · 13/10/2023 23:00

If it was still yours then you must pay up, but not through the new owners, contact your council and sort it asap.
There's no exemption for empty properties in my council. Different councils will of course have different rules. Some double the tax if property is empty for more than 12 months.

Username82y · 13/10/2023 23:04

You have to pay it as you were the legal owner.

Pemba · 14/10/2023 06:19

VineRipened · 13/10/2023 14:13

In an area I had dealings with there was up to 6 months CT free after the death of the owners, but never heard of empty property being exempt.

Show quote history

I remember when we moved in the 90s and again in 2008, there were overlaps for a week or two with 2 properties and we did get a Council Tax reduction on one of the houses, so long as there was no furniture there. But the next time we moved a few years later this exemption had disappeared. In fact I think in many areas you actually pay extra Council tax on an empty property, after a while? Which I can understand, as they want to discourage property standing empty as housing is so badly needed.

PickledPurplePickle · 14/10/2023 07:49

Well you are responsible for the council tax for the period you owned it so it is your bill

either ask the estate agent to forward it to you but tell them not to give out your address

or contact the council, which you should have done anyway to pay the final bill

skyeisthelimit · 17/11/2023 17:07

Contact the council yourself and pay it. You are liable as you owned the house at that time. The fact that they delayed it doesn't come into it as far as the council are concerned. You should have advised the council of your completion date when it sold.

Tell the agent to tell them to throw it away as you are dealing with it.