CTB Benefit Question

ramsdenraven

Hi everyone. I need a little advice. The situation is as follows.

I live with two friends who are a married couple. There is also their 2yo son but I doubt he is relavent. They own the property and charge me no rent so I have never claimed HB. I do make a contribution to household bills.

I'm currently in reciept of IB plus DLA MRC LRM.
Jay works full time on an approximate salary of £25000
Claire works on a casual basis and claims carers allowance for me.

All of our names appear on the council tax bill. Is it possible for me to make a claim for CTB?

I've been through the councils calculator and it looks like if I claimed the entire bill would be paid. This doesn't seem right to me when there is someone in the household working fulltime.

Any input much appreciated.

dazzadub

i doubt you could as its not your property and you dont pay rent under an agreement. if you had a officail tenacy agreement then you could.

why would you be on council tax bill anyway when you have no tie to the property. i would be craeful if you are on it as you would liable if not payed

ramsdenraven

As far as I know I've been on it since we moved here.

fluffymovie

There is a hierarchy for billing and if you live with the owners, you shouldnt be on the bill at all.

ramsdenraven

I thought anyone over 18 living at the property had to be on the bill?

DX2

ramsdenraven wrote: »

I thought anyone over 18 living at the property had to be on the bill?

Who has to pay council tax

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 property is accommodation for asylum seekers; or
• 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

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

afc80

As has been said, there is a hierarchy.

Only the owners of the property should be on the council tax bill in this instance.

He/She should not be named on the bill.

Advise the council and you will be removed from any council tax liability.

Sambucus_Nigra

ramsdenraven wrote: »

I thought anyone over 18 living at the property had to be on the bill?

Are you sure you are on the CT bill and not just on the council election list - which everyone over 18 living at the property should be on. It's called the Electoral Roll.

ramsdenraven

Thank for the input everyone its much appreciated.

I am definatly on the bill there is no doubt about that. I think its a carry over from when we all rented a place together. Everyone was working so we all just paid a third each and still do.

afc80

you can still continue to make a personal contribution towards the bill , but you should not be named on the bill.

i would not want to be named on a bill and therefore legally liable for payment as you do not know what will happen in the future.

you would be pursued for any debt.

ramsdenraven

Thaks afc80

I see what you're saying. I'll see about getting the bill changed on Monday but keep on paying my third. Then if the wheels do come off for whatever reason I won't be responsible for it. I can never see that happening but you never know.

Thanks again everyone for all your input.