Council Tax Responsibility - Rental

tokyophil

Hi,

My basic question is, in the event of a dispute who is responsible legally for council tax, the owner or tenant (With no formal contract in place)? In this case the informal agreement was for the owner to pay, but it appears she may not have done so.

To give the full story:

I currently rent a property from a friend of a friend.

I made the mistake of not having a formal contract. We have been in the house since October. The deal we agreed was that we would pay x pounds a month until April, and that would include council tax etc as the owner had paid in advance. Come April, we would take over the bills and reduce the rent so our expenditure would still total x pounds.

We pestered her for bill information since xmas, but she failed to give us the details. Then, suddenly in July she rang us and said all the bills were now overdue and needed to be sorted asap. She also said the situation has changed and we now have to pay them on top of the rent, with no rental reduction as previously agreed. She stated that she needed the extra money to pay for a new kitchen install. At this point we were one week away from going on a three week holiday, and had agreed that she would be at the flat to fit the kitchen. I was very worried to leave our stuff and so we ultimately settled on an agreement that I will pay some towards the service charge (I know I'm not legally responsible for this) and pay the water, and she will take care of the council tax.

It now appears that she may not have paid the council tax, and I'm worried in the event of a dispute that i may be liable. (We are still getting letters addressed to "The occupier" asking for details on who is responsible. As stated above, I have no formal contract, only an email between us agreeing that she will pay it.

Thanks for your help.

Phil

clutton_2

this is a very tricky one, because most tenancy agreements specify that tenants pay all utilities. Councils generally charge who is resident as they are using the services provided, and will charge the LL when no tenants are in residence.

the fact that you have paid rent - presumably by S/o or cheque - means that a tenancy has been created - as you live in the property which the landlord owns and you have given him "consideration" (rent) to live there.

i would try to talk to the council and see what they say - but my bet is that the council will charge you and then you will have to pay it and then you will have to get it off the LL.


trouble is - if the council think you owe the money they will take you to court and you will end up with a CCJ - and you dont want that at any cost


the LL sounds really awful and selfish - why not find somewhere else ?

lincroft1710

As you are the occupier and as it is not a "house in multiple occupation", you are responsible for CT.

Fire_Fox

"Usually one person, called the liable person, is liable to pay council tax. Nobody under the age of 18 can be a liable person. Couples living together will both be liable, even if there is only one name on the bill. This applies whether the couple is married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership.
Usually, the person living in a property will be the liable person, but sometimes it will be the owner of the property who will be liable to pay.
The owner will be liable if:

• the property is in multiple occupation, for example, a house shared by a number of different households who all pay rent separately; or
• the people who live in the property are all under the age of 18; or
• the people who live in the property are all asylum seekers who are not entitled to claim benefits including council tax benefit
• the people who are staying in the property are there temporarily and have their main homes somewhere else; or
• the property is a care home, hospital, hostel or women's refuge.

If you think that the owner of the property should be paying the council tax, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If only one person lives in a property they will be the liable person. If more than one person lives there, a system called the hierarchy of liability is used to work out who is the liable person. The person at the top, or nearest to the top, of the hierarchy is the liable person. Two people at the same point of the hierarchy will both be liable.
The hierarchy of liability is:

1. a resident owner-occupier who owns either the leasehold or freehold of all or part of the property
2. a resident tenant
3. a resident who lives in the property and who is a licensee. This means that they are not a tenant, but have permission to stay there
4. any resident living in the property, for example, a squatter
5. an owner of the property where no one is resident."

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/tax/council_tax.htm

theartfullodger

Errr. there are other views... notably from HM Government....

Who is responsible for paying the bill?

There's one Council Tax bill for each home. Usually the person living in the property has to pay the bill. Spouses and partners who live together are both responsible for paying the bill.
The person at the top or nearest to the top of the following list has to pay the bill:
• lives in the property and owns it
• lives in the property and has a lease (this includes 'assured tenants' under the Housing Act 1988)
• lives in the property and is a 'statutory' or 'secure' tenant
• lives in the property and isn't a tenant but has permission to live there
• lives in the property (for example a squatter)
• has a lease of six months or more on the property, but doesn't live there
• owns the property but doesn't live there
You can't be responsible for paying the bill if you're under age 18.
If you're still unsure about who is responsible for paying the bill, you can contact your local council and they'll be able to help.

See....
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/YourlocalcouncilandCouncilTax/CouncilTax/DG_10037383

Cheers!

Lodger

tokyophil

Cheers all - I feared it could end up my problem...

Just out of interest, how does it work in properties that are advertised as including council tax? If things get that far, how does the tenant stand?

In my case, I have an emailed agreement and phone message saying she has paid, so I could use them as evidence. I may be wrong and find she has paid, but evidence points against it....

clutton_2

""I have an emailed agreement and phone message saying she has paid, so I could use them as evidence"" this would be good evidence in a small claims court for you to take the LL to court once you have paid your CC bill

Geenie

Oh, the friend of a friend scenario! :rolleyes: Both sides are in the wrong here. Looking for cheap ways to avoid LL's duties, and tenants wanting an easy way to rent and low costs.

I let, and all my tenants pay their council tax because they are using the property and it's services. This is agreed in the AST !

Is your LL paying tax on your rent by the way?!

Fire_Fox

theartfullodger wrote: »

Errr. there are other views... notably from HM Government....

See....
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/YourlocalcouncilandCouncilTax/CouncilTax/DG_10037383

Cheers!

Lodger

Isn't that basically the same as what I posted? Or am I having a 'senior moment'?