FI15654

Request

  1. Please advise if there is anyone who deals with Housing associations landlords within council tax team, please provide their name, direct email address and phone number too please. If not, please provide and alternative email address, where we can get complicated queries dealt with and advise who can take responsibility for responding to queries. For example who can review the portfolio and advise if there are long term empty property premiums applied to accounts, with a view to getting these brought back into use. Or advise how many accounts have outstanding balance with courts summons or out with debt collectors.
  2. Is it possible to arrange an in person or teams meeting to discuss accounts and get certainty that they are up to date. How can this be arranged and who with? Please provide contact details.
  3. Can you please advise if there is an online portal that is useable for a Housing association to log on and download bills and review accounts. Please advise how we can get access.
  4. Please advise if the council tax department can extract data showing closed accounts with balances and or open accounts with long term premiums added.
  5. Please advise, if the council has a registered charity or housing association listed as the account holder, is it policy to automatically apply class B exemption or does this need to be applied for each time a tenant changes. Please let me know if there is a different policy.
  6. Does the council automatically issue refunds for credits on accounts or do they have to be requested?

Response

  1. The email address for all Council Tax related matters is Council.tax@dover.gov.uk
  2. Contact the email address above with the reasons for the meeting and detail why the current queries cannot be dealt with using the standard method of communication. 
  3. Yes, there is an online Portal for Council Tax for Dover on the following link - Online Portal
  4. Yes, the data can be extracted but if this is over a number of financial years, it requires manual adjustment which takes a considerable time to produce. This information is included in the Council Tax bills issued and on the online portal, which should allow for a data base to be created by the Housing Association.
  5. Providing we have the relevant evidence including the Article of Association held on record, the Class B exemption can be applied without the need for application. Where we do not hold this information, an application will need to be made. 
  6. If the customer makes payment by Direct Debit, a refund will be issued automatically to the same bank account used to make payment of Council Tax. If a customer pays by other means, the customer would need to apply to us for the refund to be made.