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tigerlily11 | 14:41 Fri 20th Jun 2008 | Law
15 Answers
My son moved home about two years ago to go and share house with his sister. He didn't really want to at the time but the flat he had was a problem.
He had a naighbour who was a pain in the neck by having his stereo blaring out all day and all night. Dispite many complaints from my son and other naighbours the council would do nothing about him. This lead to my son almost losing his job because he was losing sleep.
the council had words with this bloke but every time they wanted to move him out he had a DR complaining on his behalf about the fact that he was a drug addict on medication and it wasn't his fault he was a pest to every one else so the council just left him to be a pain to everyone else in the area.
Any way My son was at the end of his tether and moved in with my daughter to avoid losing his job. He handed the keys back to the local office but unfortunatly he didn't get the reciept for the keys and they have conveniantly got no record of it. At the time he had been without sleep for about 4 days and was at his wits end.
Now the council, after two years have sent him a rent bill for �3000.
Is there any way we can fight this as I think the whole thing is completely unfair.
Thanks for your time.
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are the council saying that in 2 years they werent aware that the property was empty? im not clued up on social housing but would expect that perhaps theyd be aware if a property was not being tended and was lying empty. Plus 2 years is a long time to allow rent to build up

has he got proof that he wasnt occupying it? was he on electoral role at his sisters address, does he have final bills from the electicity suppliers etc?

if hes had a rent bill now then i presume he has had post redirected somehow, did he not receive a thing from then in the last 2 years?

thats a terrible story ..... firstly problem neighbour drug addict ....... and the no reciept for keys ....... do they council change the locks , when a tennant vacates ,,,as your son , did... they may have no record pf his keys being returned , but councils may have a policy, that they change the locks , on properties , to stop unauthorsied RE ENTRY , you coukld ask the council if they did put in new front door lock , and if so when ,,.... its a long shot ...
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dont know if you've tried it but i would be inclined to go to your MP they are quite good at these things and your local paper (councils hate being embarrassed) has the office gott cctv may have a record of him being in the office. In my area a woman kept receiving council tax bills for her dead mother and she went to paper it seemed to sort it . Good luck
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Yea Red thats what I thought.
He was living in an area that is well known for problems and they do check it regularly so they must have noticed he wasn't there.
He knows he should have given a months notice and he is quiet willing to pay that, but �3000 pound!!!
He has proof of where he was. he was only with her for about 3 months and he has records of being where he is now.
He spoke to them this morning and they have made him an appointment to see the woman he got the letter from.
I hope he can sort it out but I just need to know what I can do.
They recon it is so much because they took it to court to get an eviction. Why would they do that wen it was obvious he was gone? He handed the keys back what more do they want?
It's mind boggling just what these people get up to.
Ty any way
What exactly happened when he handed the keys in?

Did he say who he was, the address the keys belonged to and explain he was vacating?

Why didn't he follow it up in writing within a few days?

If he just handed the keys over the counter, they would have no idea to where the keys belonged, or that the flat was being vacated. If they have gone to the trouble of getting an eviction notice through the court they clearly did not know he had left.
I hope he has some luck with it.

I cannot believe that a Council would not be aware that one of their properties has been empty for that long.

Why did they not do something when the Council Tax was not paid?

Tell them they are not getting the money and that they can evict the tenant they say lives there if they want to!
i cant believe he only owes 3000 pounds for 2 years!
Thats only 125 pounds a month
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I know it all sounds a bit wierd but its a bit confusing really. he told the woman at the counter which flat the keys were for.
Don't know if she bothered to write it down or not.
They say it was a period from september 2007. He hasn't been there since 2006.
I can't understand what they are on about either I just wanted to know if anyone had any ideas if it needs to go to court.
Get the local Councillor involved. Also, if it can't be sorted he could go to the Local Government Ombudsman with a complaint of maladministration.
Hi tigerlily11
I know someone who is going through the same experience as your Son.
They just will not listen and as they quote "We don't make mistakes"
Unless he has proof that he handed the keys back, they will not back down. Wrong I agree.
I would tend to go with the other abers. See you MP. Can't do anyharm. Good luck anyway. x
I know how incompetant the council are -my daughter gave a months notice.I was there when she handed in the letter -she didnt get a receipt however.Now she thankfully only has a months arrears to pay back -and yip �125 believe it or not sounds a bit right for a single end as we call them -just a basic one bedroomed flat in a scuddy area.
You cannot reason with the council BUT TL -i;ll bet you will find that this is a glitch in the system -J was chased up numerous times and that was when she had paid her rent.
There is no way that a council would allow rent arrears to that degree to build up -they rub their hands with glee if youre 2 days late -dont fret -miss out the middle men who will try to justify their colleagues incompetance and take it to your MP along with the threat of highlighting it the local paper.That should do the trick.Wouldnt even give them the courtesy of a copy letter to get their story right -I bleeding cannot stand Local Government Officers -well not the ones in my area anyway - treated my daughter like a piece of filth until she managed to buy. O and BTW -they are NEVER EVER wrong -even if you have witnessed the said letter being handed in -grrr !!

Be pro-active -get in there !!!!!
really really? You can rent a flat for 125 a month?
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TY for for all your comments. they have given me something to think on.
TY again

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