Need help on electoral register question

divepro

Hi All,

This is my first post here and I hope this is the right section.! Mods please move thread if needed.

Let me explain my dilemma. I have been privately renting a room in a house for the last 3 years in London. I am a british citizen but have lived most of my life overseas( I was not born here).

Today I called the electoral register number for my local council to get registered on the electoral roll(for credit reasons). The woman who responded to my enquiry sounded angry as she said the house I am living at has been declared empty by my landlord, and, that this was illegal.
I was quite surprised to say the least. Currently we have at least 6 different people living at this address.( Each person has their own room and is renting off the landlord.)

The lady at the electoral office told me to contact my landlord and tell him this was illegal- which I did. He gave me a runaround story of which I understood nothing. The lady at the electoral office also said she would send me a letter by post to register for the electoral roll.

But I`m worried here- It sounds like my landlord has been doing some dodgy dealings by declaring the house empty.

Any advice appreciated!!

poppysarah

HMO - sounds dodgy.

Won't meet any of the requirements.

look on the shelter website for info maybe.
Or your council's website for HMO

divepro

poppysarah wrote: »

HMO - sounds dodgy.

Won't meet any of the requirements.

look on the shelter website for info maybe.
Or your council's website for HMO

Yeah it all does sound rather dodgy. When I confronted my landlord about this, he said that he is paying council tax for this property every month.
I`m just trying to figure out why he has declared the house empty??
It sound like some kind of payment is not being made for something....

And what did you mean by`won`t meet any of the requirements` Sarah?
Thanks.

DVardysShadow

divepro wrote: »

Today I called the electoral register number for my local council to get registered on the electoral roll(for credit reasons). The woman who responded to my enquiry sounded angry as she said the house I am living at has been declared empty by my landlord, and, that this was illegal.
I was quite surprised to say the least. Currently we have at least 6 different people living at this address.( Each person has their own room and is renting off the landlord.)

The lady at the electoral office told me to contact my landlord and tell him this was illegal- which I did. He gave me a runaround story of which I understood nothing. The lady at the electoral office also said she would send me a letter by post to register for the electoral roll.

She has no business getting angry at you, whatsoever. Nor telling you to contact your landlord. Her job is to give you your vote. And if she thinks she has detected a council tax anomaly, to report it to the CT office

Also, AFAICS, declaring the house occupied or not is between your Landlord and the council - it appears to be a House in Multiple Occupation [HMO]. If that is the case, then the Landlord will be solely responsible for council tax. [You do need to check this]

00ec25

divepro wrote: »

And what did you mean by`won`t meet any of the requirements` Sarah?
Thanks.

a property with that many residents in it will probably fall under the mandatory licence requirements for a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), as a start:

- the council charges the LL a substantial fee to issue said licence
- the property must have various safety features fitted (fire alarms, fire escapes, fire doors)
- the property must have various safety certificates in place (gas and electrical testing)
- failure to correctly register is a criminal offence for the LL punishable by a very large fine

you have acted absolutely correctly with the council but have probably just made an enemy of your LL

(note, if the property is genuinely comprised of 6 individual self contained flats then possibility it will not be an HMO)

divepro

00ec25 wrote: »

a property with that many residents in it will probably fall under the mandatory licence requirements for a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), as a start:

- the council charges the LL a substantial fee to issue said licence
- the property must have various safety features fitted (fire alarms, fire escapes, fire doors)
- the property must have various safety certificates in place (gas and electrical testing)
- failure to correctly register is a criminal offence for the LL punishable by a very large fine

you have acted absolutely correctly with the council but have probably just made an enemy of your LL

(note, if the property is genuinely comprised of 6 individual self contained flats then possibility it will not be an HMO)

Well, myself and my girlfriend have our own self-contained flat, while the others have their own rooms but share a kitchen.

The lady at the electoral register office told me that the electoral forms were sent back by the landlord STATING that the property was empty- Therefore lying in the letter. I can understand her anger.

But this puts us in a position now of not knowing what to do.:cool:

divepro

And should I now fill in these forms stating I have been living here for the last years. Especially after the landlord has stated the property is empty?:mad:

RAS

Hi

He may have indicated it was empty, or that there was no-one resident who is entitled to vote or just have been lazy because he did not want to put down everyone's name, or he is trying to hide an HMO.

What confuses me is how he got the electoral registration forms anyway, as these get sent to the house. Does he normally get mail for him deleivered to the house?

You might want to check with the Council whether your self-contained flat has the proper planning and building control consents? Easy enough to do the planning if you check on line, usually.

RAS

divepro wrote: »

And should I now fill in these forms stating I have been living here for the last years. Especially after the landlord has stated the property is empty?:mad:

Yes. Pretty much as now they know, the Council will almost certainly ask you where you lived previously to your current address, for several years past.

So you may as well tell them.

G_M

You're LL is probobly 'short cutting' various procedures/responsibilities. Paying income tax on the rent? Getting permission to let from his mortgage company? Proper rental property insurance? Paying appropriate council tax? and as pointed out potential HMO certificate?

However, none of this is really your problem. It is between him and the council/HMRC/Bank etc.

All that concerns you is your relationship with the LL.
You have a written contract?
If you've paid a deposit is it registered in a scheme? (assuming you're not in Scotland)
Is there a paper trail for your rent payments (ie receipts, cheque numbers, bank transfer records)?
If the property has gas, do you have a safety certificate?
Do you get repairs done when needed?

If the above are all Yes, then the LL's other 'dodgy' business is not really your concern (you could shop him to the tax man I guess in the interests of all us law-abiding tax payers, but there again maybe he IS paying HMRC). Just be honest yourself when dealing with the council etc.

divepro

RAS wrote: »

Hi

He may have indicated it was empty, or that there was no-one resident who is entitled to vote or just have been lazy because he did not want to put down everyone's name, or he is trying to hide an HMO.

What confuses me is how he got the electoral registration forms anyway, as these get sent to the house. Does he normally get mail for him deleivered to the house?

You might want to check with the Council whether your self-contained flat has the proper planning and building control consents? Easy enough to do the planning if you check on line, usually.

He specifically told us to leave all mail to `the occupier` for him, as he picks it up once a week.