Landlord - Council Tax - Students

Spadez

Hi,

Bascially we rented a house for a year with the intention of having a spare room to turn into the gym. We are all students. Now we have another person living with us who isnt a student.

The landlord is demanding that we pay him "extra" money in order that he wont tell the council that the extra non student is living with us. He says if we dont, the extra person will be required to pay the full council tax for the entire house, which works out at 1800. He wouldnt even give the extra non student a contract.

This all really came out of nowhere and we really dont know what to do. We dont mind paying the council tax but there is no way he can pay that much. Is there any way he can get a reduced amount, or pay for just his share of the council tax?

The council is hillingdon UB100JF and council band G.

Im not trying to do anything under hand, im just wondering if we are liable for any kind of reduced council tax. We also have a tape recording of the landlord trying to bribe us.

James

bitsandpieces

If you have a non-student living with you then you need to tell the council - this does mean that there will be a council tax bill for the property. You will get a 25% single occupancy discount if there is only 1 non-student in the property. Not paying council tax under these circumstances by hiding the fact the non-student is there is illegal. It may work out better - in financial terms - if the non-student moves out and a student moves in.

Your landlord sounds dodgy as hell :eek: Don't give him extra money! You may need to pay more of a bill to the council, though, if the non-student wants to stay.

mynameisdave

Your LL is blackmailing you in order for his silence (complicity?) on tax evasion. Sounds like a top bloke. Bet he wanted it cash in hand so he didnt have to tell MRC about his csah on the side!

Basically there is a council tax bill to pay. 75% of the full value. How you split that between you is up to you decide. As far as the law is concerned the non-student is the only liable person, whether you want to split the cost between all residents is another matter.

theartfullodger

As mynameisdave says...

Your dishonest, crooked, rat-bag of a sniffling little landlord has shown himself in his true light - an out-and-out-crook. I would now (sorry!) not trust anything he has told me at any time & check everything (gas safety cert, HMO license, permission from his lender to let property, evidence of him having the correct Landlord insurance, declared income from rent to HMRC etc etc etc... )

Your non-student mate simple needs to write to council, claim 25% single occupancy discount and the council tax is his problem - not you, the tenants problem, and it is nothing to do with the landlord..


T**ts like this we don;t need!!

Cheers!

Artful (Landlord since 2000)

dancingfairy

Hang on -doesn't it depend on how the tenancy's are worded? - from the sounds of it they could be individual tenants not one joint tenancy between them - in which case it could be a HMO which would mean that the landlord is liable for the council tax?
It is a HMO if you all have individual tenancys I believe.
df
P.S I would also get some advice from your college/uni - a tenant without a tenancy agreement doesn't sound good.

CIS

If you each have individual tenancies and pay only for a your room then the property will be an HMO and the the L/L would be liable as per the Council Tax (liability for owners) regs 1992. Neither you nor the L/L have any say in this decision, if would be made by the council.

The L/L does sound very dodgy (and I deal with plenty of dodgy landlords). If there is one occ who is not a student then as it currently stands they are liable for 75% of the full charge however if it is an HMO then the L/L would be liable for this charge.

I can see there is another issue which will come to light if the property is not an HMO. If you have T/A's and the other occ does not then you may find that you have the higher interest (section 6 of the local government finance act 1992) and therefore are liable for the charge (irrespectiv eofbeing students).

tbs624

CIS wrote: »

I can see there is another issue which will come to light if the property is not an HMO. If you have T/A's and the other occ does not then you may find that you have the higher interest (section 6 of the local government finance act 1992) and therefore are liable for the charge (irrespectiv eofbeing students).

My understanding is that student Ts cannot be held liable for the non payment of Council Tax by non students - see Local Government Finance Act 2003

tbs624

Spadez/James - you mention an empty bedroom on the initial let and then the LLs lack of willingness to grant the extra T a formal tenancy, even if extra money was chucked his way, which sounds to me as though the LL is trying to avoid HMO licensing altogether. Are there 5 or more of you in the property?


This one definitely sounds like a contender for the "rogue LL" thread.....................

Spadez

Thank you so much for replies. The house is HMO and has the HMO certificate on the hall. I will consult the university legal team tomorrow but this might be just what we need. Thank you again and I will keep you updated on our progress tomorrow with uni.

PasturesNew

For the record, for those not checking, the council tax on the property in question is £2371/year, with 25% single person discount and spread over 12 months that's still £148/month, so quite a bit at stake here.

CIS

My understanding is that student Ts cannot be held liable for the non payment of Council Tax by non students - see Local Government Finance Act 2003

They can if they have the higher interest in the property - if for example there is a resident student owner and a non student lodger then, although the lodger is disregarded, he has the higher interest and is liable for the council tax due.

The 'hierarchy of liability' does not take in to account anyones student status - student status, apart from one or two instances, affects the charge payable and not the person's liability.

Thank you so much for replies. The house is HMO and has the HMO certificate on the hall. I will consult the university legal team tomorrow but this might be just what we need. Thank you again and I will keep you updated on our progress tomorrow with uni.

HMO's for plannng purposes do not always match the council tax defintion of HMO's (although they do in the vast majority of cases. Your best off speaking to the council as the Uni will know very little about the inner workings of council tax law.