council tax single occupant review letter

[woody75Kelly]

Hi all I'm new found this site and found lots of interesting

Advice so wonder if anyone can help, I received a letter from council regarding my council tax, asking me if I'm still the only adult living there, I have two weeks to reply, I work and have mortgage receive no other benefit other than tax credits and single occupant discount which I have done for years but never had one of these before? No other discount or benefit, I did also have the dreaded Mr x letter last year off tax credits as some of ex mail was coming here but sorted that, it also says they will shortly be conducting more detailed investigations ? I am single but ex does come round to see kids pick them up ext worried in case I get a get a home visit as he is there? So I'm having to take kids to his parents for him to see? Or am I just over reacting? Do they do unannounced visits?

[abc123def]

They do send out occasional letters just to check the situation is the same and you are still the only adult living there so that is entirely normal.

[marmaris30]

Councils are cracking down on single-person discount claimants, because it's one of the few discounts they can't control (they must give 25% off by law), and they need the money. However nobody who is genuinely the only eligible adult in a household should have any fear, even if they have visitors occasionally staying overnight.

 

In any case, you need to reply to the letter to confirm that you're the only adult in the household.

 

If they don't believe you then they might make further enquiries and some councils have been known to watch suspect houses very early in the morning for signs of a regular second adult living there. They would need to see this happen quite a few times before alleging that a discount was being claimed fraudulently.

 

Since your ex presumably visits often but never stays overnight, and in any case this is a perfectly normal state of affairs that could be explained if ever the council asked, you are over-reacting to insist that he doesn't visit. It would make no difference if they knocked on the door in a surprise visit - you are perfectly entitled to have visitors!

[jamesharris343]

How do you go from single occupancy to shared occupancy in the councils eyes?

 

As you say - you can have visitors stay over (friends or partner) and visit daily.

 

Is there a 'maximum' number of nights a partner can stay in a week before its deemed they are co-inhabiting?

[marmaris30]

Looking around elsewhere on the internet, various Councils cite case law as the main basis for determining 'residency' for the purposes of applying or removing discounts. You can be living mainly somewhere else, even abroad (as in one case cited in the Guardian), and still be counted as 'resident' with someone else, and therefore no discount.

 

In this case however, if the OP's ex-partner is living elsewhere and they don't intend to live together again, there should be no argument about continuing to allow the discount. If there were any dispute then the OP's ex would presumably be able to provide proof, especially if he pays the Council Tax on his own home.

 

Friends etc. can stay overnight, seemingly even for long periods, but if they are resident elsewhere then they shouldn't put the discount at risk.

 

There doesn't seem to be a specific number of nights or proportion of time, and the Valuation Tribunal (the appeal body for these disputes following termination of a Council's complaints procedure) can base its decision on all sorts of factors, only really bound by a few cases that went all the way to the High Court.

[citizenkain]

woody,Ive had that letter a few times in the past,seems they do it to folk regular,dont worry about it

[DollyDagger]

The reason you have this letter is in all probability because they think you might be living with another person and they expect you to be able to prove that you cannot. Many people resent this. If your letter tells you that their records show you are receiving a discount 'because you live alone' then either their records are wrong or they cannot interpret them properly, as by law ALL 25% discounted bills must be issued on the assumption that the same rate will apply on every day of the coming year. The rate applies when only one adult who 'counts' ie who is not disregarded has his or her sole or main residence in the house. For the case law on what evidence is required to determine sole or main residence see Williams v Horsham District Council, a case you can find using google. Put simply, it is very likely that they regard you as a fraud suspect, so expect them to be unpleasant if you state that you live alone when they suspect that you don't. However, if they do issue an adjusted demand notice then you can appeal to a valuation tribunal. They usually, and deliberately in my view, fail to tell you this when they threaten to 'cancel' your discount.

[DollyDagger]

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2004/39.html

 

This sets out the criteria for deciding the sole or main residence of an adult. The idea that an adult may have more than one residence is embedded in council tax law. The general rule as stated in this case is

 

All this reinforces the conclusion (which is one that we would have reached without reference to the dictionary) that in section 6(5) of the Act "sole or main residence" refers to premises in which the taxpayer actually resides. The qualification "sole or main" addresses the fact that a person may reside in more than one place. We think that it is probably impossible to produce a definition of "main residence" that will provide the appropriate test in all circumstances. Usually, however, a person's main residence will be the dwelling that a reasonable onlooker, with knowledge of the material facts, would regard as that person's home at the material time. That test may not always be an easy one to apply, but we have no doubt as to the conclusion to which it leads in the present case.

[DollyDagger]

The thing is here that they don't bother collecting evidence of fraud as this is most often dealt with via the civil tribunals and the problem with this is that you have to be the one who appeals which means you have to prove yourself innocent. But they do have to be able to produce evidence.

 

It would help if people enquiring about this posted a copy of the letter, as many of these in themselves give reasonable cause for complaint. But people don't post them so one cannot tell.