Need help on electoral register question

divepro

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

But a self-contained apartment IS a separate flat! Do you have your own front-door into the apartment, not share a kitchen or a bathroom with anyone else in the property? If the answers are "yes" then it will most likely attract a separate council-tax bill. A separate bill which you could be liable to pay yourself. For the last two-plus years, at that.

Even though the LL told us council tax is included in the rent? \would`nt the council first have to investigate if the property was being properly declared as a HMO.

As Of these last threads- I am absolutely suspicious that the LL is paying council tax.........on a property he has declared empty.

What are my rights here and what would you suggest is the best route to follow. We will give notice anyway at the end of the month.

BitterAndTwisted

You've already admitted that there's nothing in writing about the landlord paying the council tax in your rental agreement, so should the local authority deem your apartment to be a separate property for the purposes of calculating council tax you will be the one getting the bill.

satchmeister

divepro wrote: »

Even though the LL told us council tax is included in the rent? \would`nt the council first have to investigate if the property was being properly declared as a HMO.

As Of these last threads- I am absolutely suspicious that the LL is paying council tax.........on a property he has declared empty.

What are my rights here and what would you suggest is the best route to follow. We will give notice anyway at the end of the month.

The council do not go around checking if a house has been converted to HMO. I assume it required planning permission ie you need to tell the council before the work is done and the council will then make the necessary checks and adjust the tax as necessary. The LL has not told the council or HMRC; it is fraud and tax evasion.

How will you get your deposit back? Normally I would not suggest that you stop paying rent before you leave but in this case you may have no option as the deposit is not protected and the LL sounds like a crook and will keep the deposit.

divepro

satchmeister wrote: »

The council do not go around checking if a house has been converted to HMO. I assume it required planning permission ie you need to tell the council before the work is done and the council will then make the necessary checks and adjust the tax as necessary. The LL has not told the council or HMRC; it is fraud and tax evasion.

How will you get your deposit back? Normally I would not suggest that you stop paying rent before you leave but in this case you may have no option as the deposit is not protected and the LL sounds like a crook and will keep the deposit.

Hmmm. To be fair to the guy he has always been reasonable concerning repairs etc. And we have a fairly good LL/ tenant relationship. If I stiff him with the rent where does that leave me with a reference to move into a new place? If we use an agency to find a flat, surely they will demand previous references?
Suggestions?

satchmeister

divepro wrote: »

Hmmm. To be fair to the guy he has always been reasonable concerning repairs etc. And we have a fairly good LL/ tenant relationship. If I stiff him with the rent where does that leave me with a reference to move into a new place? If we use an agency to find a flat, surely they will demand previous references?
Suggestions?

Get the reference in the form of a letter first, say a week before the rent is due. Perhaps he will give you back the deposit if you mention HMRC and writing to the council. He sounds like he is a crook as he has not protected your deposit and every landlord knows this has to be done.