Real life MMD: Is the council tax bill mine?

cw18

Sooler wrote: »

How much does the OP get in benefits?

Job Seekers Allowance is £51.85/week for someone aged 16-24, or £65.45 for someone aged 25 or over.

This is supposed to cover everything except rent and council tax, which are claimed as seperate benefits (but not payable if you don't have a legal responsibility for those bills, which the person in question doesn't)

Gareth_Lazelle

FWIW I seem to recall from my student days that if you explain your situation to the council they will remove your name from the council tax bill (because you are not liable),

That way if the tax is under dispute because of non-payment, etc it will be only your brothers in the dock. A harsh point I know, but it does make the liability totally clear,

So the answer is that you don't owe any tax, and it would be pretty clearly so if it wasn't your family you move

However as it is a family matter it is always a more complex issue and open to negotiation...

jef_c

Like Pellyman said above, this is a moral issue, not a legal one.
The situation is one that you have to negotiate with your brothers, whether you are liable or not legally is beside the point. You don't mention whether you contribute to rent or other bills so it's hard to give an answer but if you think housework should be taken in lieu of a contribution then your brothers have to agree. Do they expect you to do the housework?

In terms of it not costing anything then it depends on the situation because putting someone in a spare room is a bit inconveneint but if they're sleeping in the living room for example then that is a big hassle.

My guess is that this arrangement has been going on for a while and your brothers are starting to get annoyed about it, that is the issue which needs to be addressed. It's not necessarily about the money and you need to sort out oyur relationship with your brothers.

Nick_C

Nick_C wrote: »

It is true that if you and your brothers get the landlord to change the tenancy agreement (assuming your brothers are tenants) and make the three of you jointly liable, then you will become jointly liable for Council Tax and eligible for a rebate on your share. However, you would not receive Housing Benefit if your local council believed the joint tenancy had been created to take advantage of the HB scheme.

nikkimatti24 wrote: »

You can't receive Housing Benefit if it is a contrived or commercial tenancy. However, by requesting from your Landlord that he make you an official third tenant, you would be eligible for Housing Benefit from the date that the tenancy started, provided your claim is received within one calendar month and that you are in receipt of a passported benefit.

I disagree. You need to look at the reason why the tenancy has been changed. If the tenancy was changed in order for someone to qualify for housing benefits, that would be an abuse of the scheme, and the person would be treated as not eligible. As I said originally, this (the decision) is a matter of opinion.

Regulation 9(1)(g) of the Housing Benefits Regulations requires the council to treat someone as not liable (to pay rent) if they were previously "a non-dependant of someone who resided, and continues to reside, in the dwelling", unless the claimant satisfies the council that "the liability was not intended to be a means of taking advantage of the housing benefit scheme".
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/uksi_20060213_en.pdf

Local authorities and their staff have a duty to properly investigate cases of suspected abuse, and avoid paying housing benefit if a situation has been contrived by a claimant in order to get more money out of the system. The burden of proof in this case would be on the claimant.

brierleyparker

First port of call is your local council offices. They will give you an exact breakdown for all 3 of you. As you are all single and siblings the bill will be calculated accordingly. Your brothers could find that their share of the bill is less than they are paying now. By the way, why don't you try to find a place of your own, It sounds like those two brothers of yours don't appreciate just what you do for them. Time to let them stand on their own two feet. More importantly is for you to find your confidence again and start living your own life on your own terms. Sorry about your divorce. Been there and done that got the tee shirt with 2 kids in tow, not the easiest time of my life but life is for living not running round after 2 , seemingly ungrateful brothers. Good Luck

zzzLazyDaisy

brierleyparker wrote: »

First port of call is your local council offices. They will give you an exact breakdown for all 3 of you.

This is not correct. The householder is responsible for the council tax. It makes no difference whether there are 2 or 22 people living there, the council do not divide the bill between the occupants - responsibility for the CT bill remains with the householder.

CIS

First port of call is your local council offices. They will give you an exact breakdown for all 3 of you. As you are all single and siblings the bill will be calculated accordingly. Your brothers could find that their share of the bill is less than they are paying now.

That would have been the case under Community Charge but not under Council Tax - only one Council Tax Demand Notice is issued per property (taking in to account the occupiers and any discounts and exemptions)

hughesapc

AGOENTIS has given the correct answer. you are liable for council tax if you live in the flat, and you are entitled to council tax benefit to meet your share

hughesapc

AGOENTIS has given the correct answer. you are liable for council tax if you live in the flat, and you are entitled to council tax benefit to meet your share

Nick_C

hughesapc wrote: »

AGOENTIS has given the correct answer. you are liable for council tax if you live in the flat, and you are entitled to council tax benefit to meet your share

NO, NO, NO - this is wrong!

In simple English:-

If more than one person lives in a property, 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:
a resident owner-occupier who owns either the leasehold or freehold of all or part of the property
a resident tenant
a resident who lives in the property and who is a licensee.

The actual legislation is Section 6 of the Local Government Finance Act (1992), which can be found at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1992/ukpga_19920014_en_2