Councils can often be a source of problems for renters. Common problems include disputes over council tax payments and obtaining discounts such as single person discount.
The National Renters Alliance has frequently encountered and helped renters with council problems such as the incorrect issuing and recording of Council Tax. This may arise from a council mistakes in handling of moving in and moving out information and failure to send tax information to correct forwarding addresses. These actions can sometimes result in renters facing Magistrate's Court action over outstanding council tax.
The large number of outstanding council tax cases often results in the rapid escalation of court action to recover unpaid council dues which may also incur extra costs from the instruction of council-appointed bailiffs to recover monies outstanding. Usually councils will instruct private bailiffs to enforce action who stand to gain financially the longer the dispute continues leaving you liable for sums which in some cases be an order of magnitude greater than the initial dispute amount.
Another common disputes include incorrect council interpretation of Local Government Finance Acts which stipulate conditions under which one is eligible for council tax discounts.
The National Renters Alliance team has over twenty years' experience with these issues and can identify council mismanagement in such cases. In addition to helping you with council problems the National Renters Alliance will help you file complaints with the Local Government Ombudsman for the most severe cases where your rights have been infringed.
Renting is already a stressful experience for many, don't let the council deprive you of potentially hundreds of pounds per year of your hard-earned money. Join the National Renters Alliance today.
I moved out of my apartment in July to a new place down the road. I told the council and paid the council tax on the old property and was registered and paying council tax at my new apartment for three months. I then started to get phone calls from the council to say that I owed one day's council tax which stood at £3.06 because my council tax account had been re-opened for one day at the old place. I told them that I didn't live there and that I have proof of moving which they had since new council tax bills were arriving at my new address. I thought this was the end of the matter until I got a text message in early February from somebody who's number I didn’t recognize saying that I owed £123.06. I ignored it since there was no identification and unknown number so thought that it was a scam. Later in early April I got a letter through my door on a Friday morning from a Bailiff company demanding the immediate payment of £423.06 for not paying my council tax. They also said that they would start enforcement the following Wednesday. This obviously ruined my weekend and I got in touch the NRA who noted that the council had completely mismanaged my case and that it was serious enough a breach of my rights that they would help me take it to the Local Government Ombudsman. I followed their directions and the council called off the bailiffs on Monday since they knew that they hadn't followed proper procedures. They still took one more month to confirm that the matter hadn't affected my credit rating. We're waiting for the Ombudsman's decision now but if it hadn't been for the NRA I wouldn't have known what to do. An excellent service which I thoroughly recommend.
Anthony Jones
National Renters Alliance
Office 104
275 Deansgate
Manchester
Greater Manchester,
M3 4EL
t.: 020 79930069
e.: contact@nralliance.co.uk
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