Council tax department want copy tenancy agreement?

Birmingham City have asked several times for tenancy agreements, utilities bills, proof of identity, (ours and the tenants) proof we have paid tax and other useless bits of information. We have had to provide this or face a large Council Tax bill. They are allowed to do this.

Reply to the comment left by Bill O'Dell at 06/08/2020 - 19:33
In a shared tenancy, despite being a HMO, the Landlord is not responsible for Council Tax. Landlords are responsible if you let as single rooms on separate tenancies. Most student lets are shared tenancies so making them liable for paying Council Tax if this tax is levied, works just fine. My students always give the council all the information they need. I have been a student Landlord for forty years so have seen many successful tenancies come and go, and never made all the unnecessary work you are suggesting.

In fact, I have a partner who has let a student house for almost as many years as I have, and he has always told his student to inform the Council themselves. I am unfortunately not so laid back as him, and for my efforts, just giving their names to the council, I get caught having to pay the one day Council Tax fiasco. He has never been billed for this! So my advice is, never do more than is required.

Reply to the comment left by Yvonne Francis at 07/08/2020 - 10:01
Yvonne, make sure your tenancy agreement says that the tenancy ends at Midnight and then you should not be billed for the last day of the tenancy. If you are billed the charge can be challenged.

Reply to the comment left by David Price at 07/08/2020 - 10:18
Our Council tried that one, and for the first day to using the reverse logic, in both cases they backed down and it is often a matter of simply talking with the right person, "staff training" being cited as the issue.

Reply to the comment left by David Price at 07/08/2020 - 10:18Thanks for that advice David. If I remember some time ago you posted about all this in 118, so you should know. I have challenged the council until I am blue in the face and I am simply too old for any more fight. If your suggestion did work, then the Council would have to have all the lease. Although I have nothing to hide, I am a lady who never likes to disclose more than necessary, so it would be worth paying the one day not to have to do this, and anyway I have only two large students houses, which I believe is unlike yourself, so it does not amount to much. By the way before you say the council can see all the lease anyway, then I know that's true, but not unless requested which they have never done.
I don't use agents myself, but I thought it was based on the idea of agents who have shops so they have no option but to take the keys back before midnight? I know its based on who holds the key at midnight and I'm sure my council would think it unreasonable to consider tenants leaving at midnight, as I have already suggested this, as I don't anyway get my hands on the keys until the following morning.

Reply to the comment left by Yvonne Francis at 07/08/2020 - 11:45
Yvonne I have had just that argument with my council with sarcasic comments such as "So you see your tenants out at midnight do you". The tenancy ends as defined in the tenancy agreement (you need only send the council the relavent clause) NOT when the keys are returned. Councils rarely understand the difference.

Reply to the comment left by Adalat Khan at 07/08/2020 - 10:00
under what legislation?

The only times I have been asked for this is when the tenant is in council tax arrears (I guess they are ensuring it actually is the tenant who is liable and not me).

Medway Council ask you to submit a student certificate from the university which shows the students term time address and expected end date and a declaration.
A tenancy agreement contains more information than they require and tenants don’t always leave on the date specified in it.

Reply to the comment left by Tracy Conner at 10/08/2020 - 16:04
ttfo