A 90-year old pensioner from Yeadon has been told by Leeds City Council he has to pay council tax on his former home - despite no longer living there.
Cliff Sharpe moved into serviced retirement flats during the Christmas period and had planned to sell his former home, which now sits empty.
When someone moves into a care home, the council would not usually charge council tax on the former home before it is sold.
However, as Mr Sharpe moved into a serviced retirement flat which does not qualify for the exemption, he is now having to pay two lots of council tax.
The council has said it will let Mr Sharpe defer his payments on his old property until it was sold but he will eventually have to pay what he owes.
However, the situation is unclear due to the coronavirus lockdown, as it remains unknown when restrictions will be lifted - and when Mr Sharpe will be able to sell his house.
Mr Sharpe’s son Chris claimed the council should use some discretion in dealing with the situation and allow his dad to forgo council tax payments on his old house.
'They are in the right, but they could have made a special case'
He said: "My father suffers from COPD, and has been deteriorating over the years. He had a bad fall around spring last year, which led to him moving to the flat.
"But he now has two homes – one of which he can’t sell.
"He does have savings but those savings are depleting at quite a fast rate and it’s still taking money out. He was hoping the house would have been sold at the same time.
"When he moved into his new place we enquired about stopping the rates. Eventually if the house is not sold, we get to a point where we deplete all his savings – he has about a two-year buffer.
"They are in the right but they could have made a special case – there must be a few people in this position at the moment."
A spokesman for the council said: "As with all council tax payers financially impacted by the coronavirus, the council is understanding that some residents may need their payments to be deferred.
"Having reviewed Mr Sharpe’s circumstances, we are unable to waive the council tax charge but it can be deferred until such time as his former property has been sold."
