If a company gets planning permission to alter premises for retail and then starts a retail business on that land without carrying out the permission conditions for some years, and then goes on to rent the lease to someone as a going concern, knowing the work has been not been done, are they breaking the law, renting fraudulently, and who is ultimately responsible if the council are now demanding the work done by the new tenants? Is it the landlord or the tenant and could the tenant now get compensation for all the money paid out for the business and in rents from the landlord?

For anyone on statutory sick pay, help is available in the form of Rent and CT benefits but you will need to get the forms from the Council and the information is not on any of the Council or benefit web sites.

Its great to have so much feed back, thank you to you all. If the letter we sent to the Council can help anyone please feel free to use it. The benefit side of things is all sorted now but I cannot get any of the benefit I should have had while I was claiming sick pay. I was told that ignorance of the benefits is not the authorities fault.

Thank you Kelcou, I will visit regularly and see if there is any way I can help, but I am new to all this so my help and knowledge on the subject will be limited. I do not intend to just walk away from this site when I got so much help from everyone here.

Thanks Hallowitch. Both me and my husband are not young enough to have children of school age though. I have 3 offspring and the youngest is 23. We were not on Income support when the Council Tax amount accumalated, I was employed but off ill with work related stress. I have suffered with a nervous illness for over 20 years and am classed as disabled as is my husband. I was off work for 6 months and we did not know you could get housing benefits while you were off sick, we found out too late to help us. My work made me lso ill that I have had to finish. What we have had to go through and obviously a lot of other people too we now realise, has made my husband determined to get into politics. He said he is going to help others in our situation and as a polition will have more power to do so.

Benefits for Rent, Council Tax and Income Support are all being sorted as we speak. Thanks again.

On monday 18th January, a bailiff from Bristow and Suter came to our home. We had had no prior warning and the man at first said he was representing the Council and come to see about our unpaid council Tax. We were lucky in the fact we had arranged to see someone from the council earlier in the day and so we thought another visit was unlikely. Eventually he said what he was there for and as we would not let him in the house, he went up our garden path shouting that he would give us 5 days. My husband and I found your site and have waded through nearly every post on it. It was a very great help help to us, so much so, that today, the 4th day after he came, the Council have phoned the bailiffs and taken the account back and have agreed to a payment plan from us. We sent a letter from ideas on this forum to the bailiffs, a copy of the letter and a letter of complaint about the bailiffs was hand delivered to the revenues section of the council and then today a final letter hand delivered for put the icing on the cake. A copy of todays letter: Dear Sir/Madam Re: Council Tax Arrears No. xxxxxxxx Having now had a few days since being aware of the problem with our Council Tax, we have now sorted out our finances and have arrived at a payment plan, which we believe may be in everyone's benefit. Please allow me to explain. Deduction from benefits. It is our understanding that this would be done at a rate of £5.00 a week as a maximum. At this rate it would take over x years to clear. This is not an ideal option for the Council or ourselves Negotiate with the bailiffs. We are unable to do this as he requires an amount roughly equal to our current state benefits, as most bailiffs require the amount cleared in 13 weeks, so they will probably return the account to you You, the authority, take the account back from the bailiffs, which you are able to do because of special circumstances, i.e. disability, long term sickness, unemployment and severe finincial difficulty. These are known as vunerable cases. We will then pay you £xx a month, not a great amount we know, but just under half what our monthly Council Tax would have been. This means the account will be cleared in around xxxx months and you would be receiving monies from day 1. Our prefered method of payment would be by standing order. We should point out that we are paying you direct at the moment because of the disputes outlines in our letter dated xxxxxx. I believe this is the best option for all concerned. Yours faithfully Once again everyone here a great big whopping well deserved thank you.