RE; Council tax liability in br.......

[chris.g]

With the previous post in mind about who is responsible for council tax on property in bankruptcy.
I've just heard back from the OR dealing with our bankruptcy and it seems very unhelpful.....as I expected. This is what was sent on the 7.4.08

We handed the property, ???????? back to the Halifax which is the mortgage provider on 10.03.08.
Could you clarify if we are still liable for any Council Tax on the property? There is a Class C Exemption on the property until June '08.
Regards,

This is the reply I've just received.

I am sorry but the Official Receiver is unable to offer advice on this matter

I have replied asking them to confirm whether the property has been claimed as an asset in the br or not. The OR told us to hand the keys back, now I'm worried that the advice was wrong. (Without sounding funny, she doesn't seem to know what she is talking about as when I had the phone meeting with her, all I got was, 'I'll have to ask my collegues/supervisor'.......)

[angela18]

doesn't give much confidence does it?? can you not speak to someone higher

[jane.l]

I know what you mean, our OR was not very informative either, they just don’t seem to care or know!

[chris.g]

Hiya, Jane, how you doing?

Well, like I say, I have emailed her straight back to ask her to clarify whether the house has been claimed or not.
I'm getting quite concerned because I'm expecting the same carry on as you had.

[chris.g]

Sorry Ang, I didn't see your post.
We got a letter regarding the car last week from someone else so not sure who is handling the case. It's a bl**dy nightmare!!
I suppose I could email the OR direct as the person dealing is only an assistant.
I'm going to phone the council as well to get there standing on it....

[jane.l]

I was just going to say, you might be better trying the council, although in my situation, all they care about is getting paid, they just said I am liable as I am afraid you might be! I did write to them saying I thought the house should have a Class Q exemption but I have not heard back yet.

It’s a blooming nightmare, NR should have repossessed the house sooner, they took 13 months, now the house has had a For Sale sign on for 6 WEEKS and is not even really up for sale yet! I went in to the estate agents pretending to be interested in it, and they said the sign has gone up by mistake and they don’t have an asking price yet!

[chris.g]

I'm hoping I can get it sorted before the class c runs out. We have the receipt from the Halifax stating they received the keys on the 10.3.08, (I'm guarding it with my life!!!!) lol

[chris.g]

Well, the OR has emailed me back with this

The Official Receiver has a beneficial interest in the property. On the information provided by your husband and yourself there is £127 equity in the property. The mortgageees and chargeholders have been informed of the bankruptcy order and will hold any monies after the sale of the property to the order of the Official Receiver. At the time of the banruptcy order buildings and public liability insurance was placed over the property as you informed me there was no insurance in place. I hope this clarifies the situation

No mention of C/T liability. The way I read it is the house is the resposibility of the Halifax. [?]
Any experts about to give their opinion/interpretation?

[jane.l]

Thats confused me!

And £127 equity???[:D]

[chris.g]

Yes I know, hardly seems worth it! Looks like we could have stayed and bought out the beneficial interest! Mind you, the payments were killing us financially so we're better off it's worked this way.

[wen]

This is taken from Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council.

"Property that has been left unoccupied by a bankrupt:

When a property is unoccupied and the liable person is a bankrupt, the trustees become liable for the council tax. However, from the date of bankruptcy the property is exempt from council tax."

This is on Harrow Council:

Council tax - Exemptions
Class Q - Property left empty by a bankrupt person
View pages in this section

An unoccupied dwelling is exempt indefinitely where the liable party would be a trustee in bankruptcy. This is the person appointed by a general meeting of the bankrupt person's creditors. The property will probably be sold to raise cash. The property can be furnished or unfurnished to qualify. This exemption can apply to either the bankrupt account or the post bankruptcy account.

Evidence required:

Empty property form
Confirmation or letter from the Official Receiver of date of bankruptcy
Proof that the property is empty

Has anyone spoken to their council about a Class Q exemption?

[jane.l]

I have!, I spoke on the phone to the council and the woman was very unhelpful and said she didn't know anything about dealing with bankruptcy and I had to pay!

I have done a letter and sent a copy of the bankrupcty order but have not heard back, it will be a long time before they deal with it and they said I should pay it and if applicable, I will get a refund, but thats not the point, the point is, I cannot find this money, I am bankrupt and do not have enough surplus, I offered a monthly amount and they wrote back refusing it, they want more, blood-sucking leeches, no offence, leeches [:D]

[chris.g]

Thanks Wen, I looked this class q exemption up on our local council site and it's the same info. I'll ring them tomorrow and get the ball rolling. Don't want to get caught out like poor Jane.
It's annoying that the OR's seem to be shirking responsibility on assets at the cost of bankrupts. Then you have the mortgage holders dragging their feet to repossess.