Council Tax

Tenancy Types and Management

Has anyone come across this before? My tenant finally moved out (owing me 3 months rent) after being issued with a Section 21. However, she left lots of her belongings in the property for a further week because she couldn't move all in one go. I didn't bother too much as I was glad to get rid. Anyway, she informed the council she left weeks before and I now have a Council Tax bill for the period that she has told the Council, not the genuine time she spent in the property. So I ring up the Council and they tell me that unless I can provide proof she was in the property after she date she told them, I am liable. I told them the tenancy had beome a periodic one so there were no relevant dates on it and they basically said, it's not their problem and that periodic tenancies had no impact on any Council Tax issues and I should have issued a new tenancy agreement if I didn't want this to happen. I asked what proof I could provide and they couldn't give me an example other than utility bills which we both agreed I would be unlikely to get due to Data Protection laws. Has anyone else had to prove a tenant was in a property? If this is correct, it seems a jolly wheeze for tenants to get themselves out of some Council Tax payments.