renting - who pays council tax?

Wig

Generally, when you rent a whole house in a single agreement, is the council tax always paid by the tenant and therefore the council tax bill is in their name - so they would get persued for non payment not the landlord.

If the house is not rented then the council tax responsibility reverts back to the landlord.

Is that how it usually works?

And sometimes the utility bills can be all inclusive in a rent, paid by the landlord, but is it more usual to also leave these to be the responsibility of the tenant?

PasturesNew

Usually the tenant has the responsibility for all bills. Any house where the tenant doesn't is most likely to be because the landlord's not being entirely honest in his paperwork (might want to still appear to be living there and would need bills at that address in his name).

When it's not rented, it is the landlord's responsibility.

If the electricity/utilities are on a pre-payment meter/card, then if the property is empty quite a while, it is possible that when the new tenant moves in there is a backlogged bill for the standing order. Always worth checking if you're moving into a place like that. It can add up to quite a lot and if you're expecting to just put in £5-10 here and there it can get gobbled up by the historical bill.

ladylumps45

we rent and pay our own council tax in our name.when our house was empty the landlord paid it.we also pay all other utility bills.hope this helps.

Geenie

If you rent a house, unless stated as being included, the tenant pays for all utilities and council tax. The tenant is registered and not the LL, so any non payment will follow the tenant.

Millburn_farm

I'm a landlord; have been for 11 yrs; Council tax IS the tenants responsibility, as are the utilities (unless specifically stated in the lease); and I promise none payment always follows the tenant; for the period the tenant was/is responsible

When the house is empty it's my problem

Wig

When all occupants are students, there is no council tax, right?

But what about the summer 2 - 3 months if it is empty would the landlord have to pay or would it still be classed as "student house".

Madjock

a) What is a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO)?
A house in multiple occupation is any type of dwelling which:

• Was originally constructed and subsequently adapted for occupation by persons who do not constitute a single household; or
• is occupied by one or more people, each of whom -
  • is a tenant or licensee if part only of the house, flat etc. or
  • has a licence to occupy the dwelling as a whole but who does not pay rent or licence fee for the whole dwelling.

In general, the landlord owner will therefore be personally liable and billed for the Council Tax on HMO properties. If their tenancy agreements allow for it, landlords can increase rentals to cover their Council Tax liability. Similarly those tenants on Housing Benefit will receive consideration for increases in their rent.

b) What is a Single Household?
There is no legal definition of what constitutes a single household. The expression 'household' and membership of it is a question of fact and degree. Similar circumstances may result in a different outcome depending on the extent to which the varying constituents are present.
For instance, no one would argue that a family consisting of parents and children was anything other than a single household. However, many households contain individuals who are not related to each other but still regard themselves as a single unit. The considerations below are neither exhaustive nor in any order of priority but should prove useful guidance:

• the size of the household
• the size of the dwelling
• the type and extent of any communal living
• use for temporary periods only
• use of share facilities
• the degree of anonymity
• the extent to which independent lifestyles are pursued
• did the group come to the property as a group or were they recruited separately?
• are external locks fitted to bedroom doors?
• How are the utility bills resolved?

c) Is the dwelling let in parts?
The first thing to establish is whether your accommodation is classed as self contained e.g. one of a number of self contained flats within a house, or whether yours and any other residents rooms are all valued as one single dwelling, i.e. is there one or more Council Tax assessment? Please contact the Council Tax department on 01202 451597 if you are in any doubt.
If Individual rooms are let to specified individuals with separate tenancy agreements rather than the whole accommodation being let to a group of joint tenants, the dwelling will be classed as an HMO.
If the dwelling is classed as HMO, the owner rather than the occupiers will be liable for payment of Council Tax.
There is a vital difference between these two types of landlord and tenant agreement. In one case an individual is held liable for rent in respect of a specific room. However, each of a group of joint tenants can be held solely liable for the rent of an entire house.
If you are in doubt you should check the wording of your tenancy agreement and ask your landlord for further information. You may wish to seek legal advice or check with the Citizens Advice Bureau. A legal tenancy agreement is a binding contract.

Wig

What does all that mean in plain English, when all the occupants are students? Have the laws on this changed then, so that student houses are now largely subject to council tax (which would be a good thing IMO)? And who is liable for the council tax?

I think my council only considers houses of '5 or more' or '6 or more' bedrooms to be a HMO. From the wording of that it could be applied to a 3 bed house or a 4 bed. But I'm fairly sure* they don't do it like that here. Are they turning a blind eye to all the 2, 3, & 4 bed student houses here?

*I'm not so sure now, after reading that, maybe I'm wrong, and it all depends on whether they rent the house as a whole or individual rooms.

mlz1413

students are exempt from paying council tax so when the students are resident no tax is due.

If your students are coming back after summer you could ask them to leave the house in their name for the whole year as no one else will be living there that is fine, LL normally take this time to do any repairs or painting that are needed.

If the students have left and are not coming back next term then the empty period is your, the LL's, responsibility until new tenants move in.

If in any doubt you should contact your local council and speak to them direct about your situation.

re your extra info, a HMO is one where rooms are rented out indiviually and the other areas, kitchen and bathroom, are communal.
A rented house has one AST signed by all who pay the rent, the LL receives the total rent for the house regardless of who pays it.

Wig

To clarify,

When all the occupants are students, it doesn't matter if it is HMO or Single household, the house will be exempt from council tax, except when it is empty and not remaining in the students names?

theartfullodger

Re. mlz1413's "clarification" re. HMO err... nope, sorry, I fear he has been mis-informed...

in England & Wales it is "
HMO of three or more storeys that is occupied by 5 or more people in two or more households.
"

And in Scotland it is " An HMO is any house or flat which three or more unrelated adults share. " (eg mum, dad & 2 kids plus a mate is OK, not HMO, , 3 blokes all unrelated => HMO.)

If the tenancy is one single one or lots of different ones makes no difference.

Cheers!

Artful