Council tax on home you don’t live in

tinks54321

Hi. I am disabled, receive UC, ESA and PIP (enhanced level for both components). I rent my home from a housing association.

In June my lovely mum unexpectedly passed away and left her home to myself and my brother. I do not have the funds to buy him out so I cannot move into the home myself. It is therefore on the market to be sold - UC have disregarded it as an asset as it brings in no income / revenue.

On my own rental home I do not pay any council tax, however, from January of next year council tax will be due on my mum’s home. I appreciate I will be having an inheritance and I will at that time no longer receive UC and will have to pay for my own council tax but there will be money to be able to do that but until then I only have enough money coming in to cover my own bills, rent etc. I don’t know how I am going to find extra from what I currently receive to pay half of the council tax on my mums house

Does anyone have any advice ?

Thank you.

Kimi87

You could speak to your local council, and see if they will defer the bill until the house is sold, at which point you'll be able to pay what's owed in full.

tinks54321

kimmy87. Thank you. I will ask them that. I am unsure if they will agree but hopefully they will be ok with it. Thanks again.

Lou67

@tinks54321
Good morning and welcome to the forum.
Im so sorry to hear about you loosing your mum I hope your coping as best you can.
I’m sorry I don’t have advice about the question your asking but i just wanted to say hello and I hope you get everything sorted out.

Take care ❤️

JF7891

And I would suggest strongly to talk to your local citizen's advice first, they are far more involved and know the ins and outs to maximise your standing. Good Luck!

MW123

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/125187/council-tax-on-home-you-don-t-live-in

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother. Since she passed away in June, the six-month council tax exemption will start from the date probate is granted, not from the date of her passing.

As probate is rarely granted in the same month as a person's death, it’s worth verifying the probate date. This could provide you with more time before the council tax is due. Check the probate date and calculate the exemption from there. Hopefully, you’ll have extra time before payment is required.

tinks54321

MW123. Thank you. We didn’t start probate until end of June and it was granted quickly on 24 July 2024. I think the council are going to bill me from 1 January 2025. Initially I had a bill for the whole of the year from 1 June 2024 which is the day my mum passed away. I phoned and they said they would give one months grace to empty the house and then I had to fill out another form stating no one lived there and the house was empty and they extended that by six months until 1 January 2025. I know it doesn’t buy a lot of time but should the council tax, therefore, start on 24 January 2025 which is six months from grant of probate. Thank you

NDmummy

@tinks54321 Sorry for your loss, it's so sad that when your at your most vulnerable you have to try and deal with bureaucracy which is hard at the best of times. There has been lots of good advice which is great, all you can do is follow that , get some support from citizens advice and hopefully your local council will be willing to wait for their council tax until a sale can be completed. Good Luck, hope it all works out

JennieWren

I would phone the local council your mother’s house is in and advise them of the situation. From what I’ve heard there’s a certain amount of discretion to either charge later or give a reduction. Obviously some councils are more sympathetic than others.

Littlefatfriend

I'm sorry for your loss.

The details of this can be complicated and it's worth exploring if there's any way you can access free advice from a solicitor. Lots of charities offer that kinda thing and it seems likely to me their advisors will have experience of your situation. I believe the Spinal Injuries Association offers that, which organisation you can access may depend on your disability, ironically.

Councils have considerable discretion available to allow you to delay or temporarily reduce the council tax due. Each council has their own rules. I suggest you also contact your council. It may be that they have people who can help you with this.

Do you have access to a social worker? They could probably help. If not I expect you could ask for that.

HMRC suggest "If you are the beneficiary of a will and have inherited a property, you may wish to discuss liability for Council Tax with your solicitor as the interaction of Council Tax and inheritance law is complex and depends on the particular circumstances."

Good luck, the sooner you do something the better it will likely be.

teuchterlass

Sorry for your loss.

Get speaking to solicitor, ask at CAB for the senior person who can advise on this subject, council again ask for senior person who can advise on this.

I have been advised if house is on market you can have up to 2 years to sell and sort things out.

Advised liable after 6 months.

Also been advised it's payable from date of death.

As you can see - well worth speaking to as senior up ladder as you can get and ensure you have their name and confirm you will be emailing to confirm date, time and contents of your discussions. Makes advisor ensure information is correct.