UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi my tenant notified me she was moving out 'soon' but didn't know when. Then she moved without telling me but kept the keys so she could move her furniture, this took a month before she gave me the keys and I could get in and clear all the things that she didn't want, ie the knackered suite etc. I then received a council tax bill including the month that she had the keys. I explained all that to my council but they weren't interested and sent me a letter saying if the full bill wasn't paid then they would take me to court. He even hinted that it may be a test case to clarify who is responsible. I did have a tenant waiting to move in but because she had the keys they couldn't obviously.

In my experience, councils are prepared to take anyone's word as gospel as long as it results in them getting their money!

During this interim period, was your tenant still paying rent? Do you have any documentary evidence of when the tenancy ceased? Until that point your tenant still had the right to quiet enjoyment of the property and, by the same token, was responsible for the council tax.

Probably best and most straightforward action would be to pay the council tax  and deduct it from the deposit. See the separate thread on council tax obligation.

Good luck