2019 Move - Council Overcharging

[adridude]

Hi,

 

I moved from my old property to this one on 1 Nev 2019. It's clear I've been here since thanks to bank statements and other accounts, but my old council are trying to get extra money out of m stating that I stayed an extra few weeks here.

 

They reason they came up with their date is because the ONLY time I could return the keys to the landlord was by letter as he wasn't even available, so ultimately, I wrote a letter, taped the keys to it. Took tis weight, and a photo for brevity and posted it though his door whilst being recorded.

 

The old LA ook THAT date as my move address where as the new LA have me in as from the 1st of the month as expected. I've sent them copies of:

- Utility bills

- Council tax bills

- Copies of me picking up packages around the 1st of the month

 

The two prperties are nowhere near each other, if anywhere a few hours apart so I would have thought that I provided enough evidence. Anyway, now that covid is over, i reveived another chaser (no court threatened yet) but we're at logger-heads about this move date.

 

Even my content insurance dates weren't enough for them. THose have to, by law, always be up to date to keep in line with the contract, but alas, here I am. Being chased for more money that someone else imagined up.

 

Any ideas as to how to approach this?

 

Cheers,

Ade

[The GodMother]

You may have moved from there you will have been given a date and time that you have to give the keys back. 

As you did not give these back on time then under your contract you have not moved out and owe rent on the previous property until the date you returned the keys. 

How they will and are seeing it is that it does not matter when your new tenancy started when your bills started you did not make yourself available to get the keys back on time and as result you have to pay. It does not matter that you say the previous LL was not available you have proved you could have made yourself available to get the keys back to them. 

 

[stu007]

Hi

 

I am sorry to say that I have to agree with The GodMother.

 

It is your responsibility to ensure that you End your Tenancy properly and until those Keys for the Old Property were in the Hands of the Landlord/Letting Agent then you still had a legal Tenancy Agreement running until that date of Keys handed back.

 

So irrespective of the New Tenancy Agreement Date, bank statements etc you had not Legal handed back your old property as the key were not handed back until a certain date and that certain date is what was given to the old Council.

 

Your old Council are correct as they are going off the date given to them by Landlord/Letting Agent which by what you have stated is the date you legally handed back your keys which until you did hand these back you still had a tenancy agreement going for that old property.

 

I am afraid the Landlord/Letting Agent are not in the wrong here with the date they gave the Council for when you Ended your Old Tenancy Agreement as it was the date you eventually handed the keys back which is the date that Tenancy Agreement Legally Ended.

 

For future reference you must ensure that you always End your Tenancy Agreement properly and when given a date for it to end that includes handing back the Keys to that property otherwise this scenario happens

[The GodMother]

I travelled by bus for 6 hours round trip just to return a set of keys so l did not get charged for them.

If l managed to then it is not that hard..