The Act Part 3 – Information notices and notifications of changes of circumstances Section 28 – Duty to notify changes of circumstances
130.Section 28 requires a ratepayer (or a person who would be liable to pay rates in respect of particular lands and heritages but for the fact that no rates are payable) to tell the local authority about certain types of changes in circumstances.
131.The changes in circumstances covered by section 28 are changes (whether in relation to the ratepayer’s personal circumstances or in relation to the lands and heritages concerned) which the person either knows, or might reasonably be expected to know, would affect whether rates are or are not payable in relation to the lands and heritages or would affect the amount of rates that should be payable.
132.The ratepayer must tell the local authority within 42 days of the change in circumstances occurring. A person who knowingly provides false or misleading information in a notification commits an offence – see section 29. A person who fails to tell the local authority of the change within the time allowed is liable to a civil penalty – see section 33.