Hi mathlete

Yes, any arrears up to the date of the Trust Deed would rank as a claim.

I'm sure letting agents normally will contact the Local Authority to confirm that the person letting the property is liable for the Council tax while they occupy the property.

If the property was handed back and sold, then any shortfall would be a claim in the Trust Deed.

Mark

Thanks very much Mark,

Unfortunately no letting agents were prepared to take on the property due to it's location (the whole town rather than the actual location of the property), and so I rented it out myself. I paid a small fee to an online company to prepare the contracts each time, but other than that I've handled the letting myself. That's why I'm a bit worried that it is actually something I was meant to do that has caused this situation.

Do you have any information on what the process would be for a voluntary surrender and is it a reasonable solution? I'm really struggling this month as over two months the arrears are up to £185, and I expect them to keep on mounting until he gets a job.

Between that and a huge increase in my CSA payments I am left with next to no money each month and it's due to get worse as these last two months have been the "free" months for my own council tax payments, so I'll be back to paying that next month.

Hi mathlete

It's normally difficult to get banks to take the keys back and voluntarily take possession.

If the mortgage is not paid for 2-3 months, they will normally commence repossession proceedings and notify the Trustee. The Trustee can sign a waiver to avoid the lengthy process of taking possession and the property would then be marketed and sold.

Mark

Thanks again Mark. Your info is always spot on, and much appreciated. Repossession proceedings sounds a bit serious, is this likely to be any worse for me in the future than just the trust deed. I suppose I mean in terms of getting a mortgage in the future, would mortgage arrears for those 2 to 3 months be an issue?

Hi mathlete

No problem, always glad to help.

From memory, in normal circumstances if there are arrears then you woukld need 12 full months with no arrears before even considering a mortgage. Any shortfall if the property was repossessed would rank as a claim in the trust deed and normal credit file time periods woukld apply, although it may well be that any future mortgage application may ask if you have ever had any property repossessed.

With a non paying tenant, you're caught between a rock and a hard place I'm afraid.

Mark

C.Tax - You probably should as best practice notify the council when your liability ceases and identify any new occupant.
Having said that...normally you would be sent a letter at your new home asking for dates and addresses so they could switch your account over.
Likewise the tenant would then receive a similar questionnaire which they have responsibility for completing and returning.

You should follow this up now with a letter outlining names, dates etc.
Your tenancy agreement should have a clause advising tenants of council tax liability so this aspect should be straightforward.

Mark is correct with comments on non-paying tenants unless you had rental guarantees.
Is there a likely entitlement to LHA, sometimes you need to help with contacting council staff, it will be paid in arrears to cover full period of entitlement.

RBSB - Thanks for that. The council tax issue is now resolved. I sent a copy of the signed tenancy agreement which covers most of the period they are looking for. The rest of the arrears existed at the time I signed my trust deed, and were run up by previous tenants who now live in RoI. As I have no proof of that agreement the council are looking to make a claim on the trust deed when it finishes.

As for the tenants, they have now "done a bunk" as it were which has left me unable to pay the mortgage and so I have cancelled my direct debit. Should I now just wait for NRAM to go through their processes or can I simply ask them to repossess to get things over and done with?

Hi Mathlete

NRAM will rarely take the keys back and start the action without the arrears building up. If you are unable to maintain the mortgage, then the best option is to sit back and wait unfortunately.

Mark

OK, thanks Mark. Will those arrears also be covered by the trust deed, or will I have to pay them back separately?

Hi mathlete

Any arrears up to the date of signing will be a claim for Council tax and all sums due for repossession will also be a claim.

Mark

Good news that council tax will no longer be pursued, that is one very aggressively pursued debt normally.

If the property is in a difficult to let area and has no equity, its hopefully not too difficult to relieve
yourself of it?