Counciltax bailiff letter - affect Naturalisation

[tcsp]

I went to NCS service they have taken my application to send.in 2 days i received a letter from bailiffs saying that my council tax for my old address were unpaid and court has order to collect money ( i don't know about this as the landlord was supposed to pay council tax my rent is included C.tax and i event didn't know about any correspondence as i moved home)
does this affect my naturalization application ? is this considered as criminal affences ?

[grantring]

I went to NCS service they have taken my application to send.in 2 days i received a letter from bailiffs saying that my council tax for my old address were unpaid and court has order to collect money ( i don't know about this as the landlord was supposed to pay council tax my rent is included C.tax and i event didn't know about any correspondence as i moved home)
does this affect my naturalization application ? is this considered as criminal affences ?

Council tax is always the responsibility of the tenant not the land lord

[friendinneed]

Council tax is always the responsibility of the tenant not the land lord

Unless it is a multi occupancy building in which case it is the landlords

[jonnyb]

I know from when I was doing my ILR application that a liability order is neither a criminal nor civil judgment and you're OK for now.

I don't know anything about whose responsibility it is to pay the council tax in your situation, but as non-payment of council tax is a criminal offence you should get the matter sorted out one way or another. Maybe talk to the council to explain that you're dealing with the situation, and check your old lease agreement?

[dajumper]

Council tax is always the responsibility of the tenant not the land lord

Unless it is a multi occupancy building in which case it is the landlords

I assume TCSP is the registered tenant of the previous address and hence he/she is responsible for the council tax as it was addressed to them.

[dajumper]

I went to NCS service they have taken my application to send.in 2 days i received a letter from bailiffs saying that my council tax for my old address were unpaid and court has order to collect money ( i don't know about this as the landlord was supposed to pay council tax my rent is included C.tax and i event didn't know about any correspondence as i moved home)
does this affect my naturalization application ? is this considered as criminal affences ?

Most likely.

Either way, you need should arrange to sort this out asap and have it paid.

[workingmama]

Non payment of council tax is not a criminal offence unless it goes so far that you get a prison sentence for refusal to pay and this only happens when the council and court have given you ample chance to amend the situation.

Generally it may just affect your credit score.
Rent generally never includes the council tax despite what a landlord may tell you. Each individual in a household is responsible for their own part of the council tax.
However if you have a signed contract that clearly states that your rent includes an amount for council tax, take your contract to the council showing this with proofs of all rent paid and they should then go after the landlord.

[tcsp]

Thank you all.
I spoke to the council and they said it might be a criminal offense if i don't pay so i have decide to pay as its already late to appeal or show my tenancy agreement which shows the rent is inclusive of all.
How ever i will wait for my AN form approval and update this topic.

[workingmama]

After you have paid it I would take your tenancy agreement and proof of rent paid down to the council and show them.
You also need to have a word with your landlord and if you get nowhere, get some legal advice because basically your paying for your council tax twice because your landlord failed to handover the money.

Non payment of council tax first ends up in hands of bailiffs then goes to court, its when failure to abide by the court order payment plan that it then becomes a criminal offence especially if you get a prison sentence. Generally councils are pretty good at accepting payment plans and often spread out what is owed and add it onto this years council tax bill which just means your monthly payments are higher.