Council tax in shared flat?

CornishW

I live in a shared flat (3 single bedrooms) and we each have to pay an equal share of the council tax (although it's in my name only). A new person has moved in and she's claiming JSA, or some other type of benefit, which means she's exempt from paying council tax - the other 2 of us work.
Can anyone explain how council tax is paid if one person is exempt from paying? Will there be a discount on the bill, or will the DSS pay her share? Or will the 2 of us that work have to pay half each while she pays nothing?

Thanks.

(P.S I live in Wales)

msgnomey

You will have to split it between the 2 of you who are working I think

llwyd.anwyl

I worked in a Housing Benefit Office

She will receive Jobseekers' Allowance which is for her to eat and live

She will then need to apply separately for Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit (they are both on the same form, although she will need to tick a box for both!)

A common misconception is people believing that because they are on the dole, they are entitled automatically to Housing Benefit - this is not the case and people need to complete a second claim, otherwise they are responsible for the rent/council tax themselves, or in your case as the head tenant - you will be responsible for her share. Get her to make a claim on Monday as they rarely backdate money without a good reason

gozaimasu

In all the house shares I have lived in, all of the tenants names are listed on the council tax bill. If they aren't then I would write to the Council and give them all the names of the people living there. Having everyone's name on there means that you are jointly and severally liable for the bill, which can be useful if anything goes wrong and someone bails out or doesn't pay up.

It's up to the dole person to sort herself out, so you should still give her name to the Council to deal with. In fact, I thought it was the landlord's responsbility to pass all the tenants names on. Has always happened for me anyway.

System

Assuming she apples for and is granted ctb her share will be taken off the bill and the remainder will be split between the two working tenents

CornishW

Thanks for your answers. The new girl is going to be claiming housing benefit (I think she was before and just needs to claim for a new address).
One problem I have is that I've paid for this months CT and the other person has given me half of the bill - the new girl only moved in today. Should I give him some money back so that he's only paid a third in the hope that the new girl pays her share eventually? Or should I tell him that we'll both have to pay half until the new girl sorts herself out? I don't think he'd expect me to pay more than him - he accepts that we're all responsible for the bill even if it's only in my name.
I've only lived with working people so it's never been a problem before!

CIS

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I live in a shared flat (3 single bedrooms) and we each have to pay an equal share of the council tax (although it's in my name only). A new person has moved in and she's claiming JSA, or some other type of benefit, which means she's exempt from paying council tax - the other 2 of us work.
Can anyone explain how council tax is paid if one person is exempt from paying? Will there be a discount on the bill, or will the DSS pay her share? Or will the 2 of us that work have to pay half each while she pays nothing?

Assuming you are all joint tenants then all 3 names should be on the Council Tax bill - any of you who claim Council Tax Benefit will get a maximum of 1/3rd of the Council Tax paid by Council Tax Benefit.

Irrespective of any Council Tax Benefit claimed you will all remain liable for any Council Tax due and can be pursued by the Council for any that remains unpaid - receiving Council Tax Benefit does not remove you from the liability.

The one thing I would be conscious of is that the property is not an HMO for Council Tax - do you each pay your own rent for a room or do you pay a total rent on the property and split it between you ?. If the property is an HMO then you cant claim Council Tax Benefit but its then the landlords responsibility to pay the Council Tax (although he could increase your rent to cover this).

System

CIS: Are you sure about the HMO rule? I only ask as in my last house it was classed as a HMO but we all paid our share of the rent and i was on CTB and got my share of council tax paid?

CIS

CIS: Are you sure about the HMO rule? I only ask as in my last house it was classed as a HMO but we all paid our share of the rent and i was on CTB and got my share of council tax paid?

I'm sure.

The Liability for Owners regs make the owner liable for a Council Tax HMO and as such the occupiers have no council tax liability and therefore cannot claim CTB. (A council tax HMO is different from a HMO for planning purposes)

If you each paid seperate rents for the right to live in part of the property (e.g rent a bedroom and shared lving rooms) and you were liable only for your own rent (e.g not having to make up any sortfall in any one elses rent) then it was a Council Tax HMO and the council tax benefit should not have been paid.

gozaimasu

CIS wrote: »

I'm sure.

The Liability for Owners regs make the owner liable for a Council Tax HMO and as such the occupiers have no council tax liability and therefore cannot claim CTB. (A council tax HMO is different from a HMO for planning purposes)

If you each paid seperate rents for the right to live in part of the property (e.g rent a bedroom and shared lving rooms) and you were liable only for your own rent (e.g not having to make up any sortfall in any one elses rent) then it was a Council Tax HMO and the council tax benefit should not have been paid.

Is that the same in Scotland do you know?

CIS

Yes - with very few exceptions the same rules apply for council tax as in E&W. This should be the latest ammendment to the wording of the relevant regs - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2003/137/regulation/2/made