‘A single mother who was sent to prison by magistrates for 81 days because she was unable to pay her council tax bill was unlawfully jailed, the high court has ruled.’
The Guardian, 18th January 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Leeds City Council is to seek permission from the Supreme Court to appeal a key ruling over whether landlords are responsible for paying council tax on a property when a tenant has moved out before the tenancy agreement has formally ended.’
Local Government Lawyer, 5th January 2017
source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘This was Leeds’ second appeal of a Valuation Tribunal decision on council tax liability. We covered the first High Court appeal here. Full disclosure, I acted for the intervener in this second appeal, the Residential Landlords Association, with Justin Bates (or as it turns out, Bate) as counsel.’
Nearly Legal, 8th December 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘We’ve seen the issue of who is liable for Council Tax when a tenant has left a property before the end of a periodic tenancy arise before. Here, the Upper Tribunal decided that a statutory periodic monthly tenancy following a 6 month fixed term did not amount to a ‘material interest’ of over six months such that the tenant would remain liable for Council Tax, while here in the Shropshire decision (and amusingly featuring NL) the Valuation Tribunal decided that a contractual periodic tenancy following on from a fixed term of 6 months did amount to a material interest such that the tenant remained liable.’
Nearly legal, 1st August 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Retired clergyman Paul Nicolson, who is refusing to pay council tax in solidarity with those hit by benefit cuts, explains why he’s happy to take the consequences.’
The Guardian, 8th June 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A High Court judge has expressed concern at “the substantial degree of uncertainty that exists” in relation to how the courts, both magistrates and the bankruptcy county court, should deal with the enforcement of domestic council tax liability orders in the context of the availability of the remedy by way of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th April 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Council tax – how do you go about setting aside and/or appealing a council tax liability order? It turns out to be far from straightforward (you might already have known this. I didn’t!). In Okon v London Borough Of Lewisham [2016] EWHC 864 (Ch) – quite astonishingly, an appeal against a making of a bankruptcy order – Mr. Robin Hollington QC addressed the issue. The bankruptcy petition was founded on a number of council tax liability orders and the efforts of Ms Okon to set aside those orders were at issue.’
Nearly Legal, 19th April 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘April 2016 is a month of big changes for people living and working in the UK. A number of new laws and policies are coming into force, affecting just about everyone from public sector workers to dog owners. Here’s what the new laws could mean for you.’
The Independent, 3rd April 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Coll (Listing Officer) v Mooney [2016] EWHC 485 (Admin) is a statutory appeal by the Appellant Listing Officer against the decision of the Valuation Tribunal for England (“VTE”) in which it ordered the Listing Officer to alter the valuation list to show one entry for a property, instead of two. The property was built as one dwelling, on three floors. However, at some point, the property was converted into two dwellings. It was listed as two separate units of property (hereditaments) when the valuation list for council tax was drawn up in 1993.’
Local Government Law, 22nd March 2016
‘Can the name of a local councillor who has defaulted on Council tax properly be withheld from disclosure under the exemption for personal data in s.40 FOIA? That was the issue for the Upper Tribunal (“UT”) in Haslam v (1) Information Commissioner (2) Bolton Council [2016] UKUT 0139 (AAC), 10 March 2016. Mr Haslam, a journalist on the Bolton News, had submitted a FOIA request to Bolton Council for disclosure of names of councillors who had received reminders for non-payment of Council tax since May 2011. The Council refused to name names, citing the exemption in s.40 FOIA. The Information Commissioner and First-Tier Tribunal (“FTT”) upheld the Council’s decision. The UT (Judge Markus QC) has now reversed the FTT’s decision, and held that the name of the individual councillor concerned should be released.’
Panopticon, 18th March 2016
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
‘Magistrates’ fines and council tax bills are driving increasing numbers of people into problem debt, an advice charity said on Tuesday, as low wages and the increased cost of living squeeze household finances.’
The Guardian, 26th May 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Regina (Nicolson) v Tottenham Magistrates’ Court: [2015] EWHC 1252 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 204
‘Before being empowered to make an order under regulation 34(7) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 for costs reasonably incurred by a local authority in council tax enforcement proceedings, the magistrates’ court had to have made a proper judicial determination of what costs had been reasonably incurred by the applicant in obtaining the liability order, that determination being based on proper and sufficient material provided by the applicant.’
WLR Daily, 6th May 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘A retired vicar who refused to pay council tax on a matter of principle has won a High Court victory over excessive costs.’
The Independent, 7th May 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Half a million more people were summoned to court last year over unpaid council tax, after benefits protecting low-income families from paying it were scrapped.’
The Independent, 6th April 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘In the last few years Austerity Britain has generated a large number of judicial review challenges to public spending cuts, particularly against local authorities. Many cases allege that the public body has consulted unlawfully. The legal principles involved have been firmly established. However, in October 2014 the Supreme Court in R (Moseley) v Haringey LBC [2014] 1 WLR 394 added a new ingredient to the mix, and the courts are still in the process of working out the implications of that decision.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 16th March 2015
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Article 3 of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 provided that a dwelling was an exempt dwelling for the purposes of section 4 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 if it fell into Class B: “a dwelling owned by a body established for charitable purposes only, which is unoccupied and has been so for a period of less than sixmonths since the last occupation day, and was last occupied in furtherance of the objects of the charity”. When seeking exemption from council tax under that provision applicants were required to provide sufficient evidence to show that those conditions were satisfied.’
WLR Daily, 29th January 2015
‘The couple are said to have funded a luxury lifestyle of holidays and jewellery with ‘scandalous ease’.’
Daily Telegraph, 11th December 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Regina (Stirling) v Haringey London Borough Council [2014] UKSC 56; [2014] WLR (D) 486
‘A public consultation under paragraph 3(1)(c) of Schedule 1A to the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as inserted, about a proposed council tax reduction scheme was unlawful if it did not involve inviting and considering views about possible alternatives to the scheme favoured by the local authority.’
WLR Daily, 29th October 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Supreme Court, 29th October 2014
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