Student Houses - does the landlord pay council tax?

Muhasib

theartfullodger wrote: »

Nice Troll flare-up , numberlock..

Who's next then to whinge and moan about ... The unemployed, pensioners, mothers getting child benefit???

Blimey, what happened to good old British tolerance and decency??

'Studentification' as it is termed is a real issue in some areas as the tolerance and decency is expected from local residents but not reciprocated, any money put into the local economy looks to go into nationally owned pub chains so not much benefit really.

Try asking people in Lenton, Winton or Headingley about the benefits!

Numberlock

scottishblondie wrote: »

Well what if there are lots of students buying flats, and then living in them with 2 or 3 mates paying rent? Would you also consider those students to be depriving the council of income? Would you also want them to pay something?

My problem is with the wealthy LLs who own dozens/scores/hundreds of properties who rent out their properties ONLY to students and by virtue of renting out properties ONLY to students, cause the local council to lose a lot of revenue. Think about it, if a council is not receiving the revenue from many properties that otherwise it would be then the tax burden is not shared fairly and that impacts on everyone else. Seriously, that's fair, is it?

Students pay no CT wherever they live, and even if the LLs rented to normal people the LL themselves still wouldn't be liable. So no, I don see your problem with it really!

Yes, thank you for stating the obvious. I have a son at Uni and am well aware that students are exempt from paying council tax. Re your second comment - yes, I know that "normal people" would be liable for CT, not the LL....you're kinda making my point for me.

sonastin

University towns attract students. Students tend to live with other students. This means that entire properties end up exempt from council tax. Councils take this into account. Short of shutting down the universities or demanding that students live with non-students, that is how the system will continue. Make the landlord pay another tax on top of the income tax that they already pay and they'll not rent to students. Which will cause a whole new set of problems...

Mind_the_Gap

Full-time students are generally exempt from Council Tax liability because unlike other no/low income people who cannot afford it, they are ineligible for housing or other low-income/jobseeker benefits.

And they do contribute to the economy of their host towns/cities in other ways and to the national economy when they graduate - assuming there are any jobs for them.

Numberlock

theartfullodger wrote: »

Nice Troll flare-up , numberlock..

Who's next then to whinge and moan about ... The unemployed, pensioners, mothers getting child benefit???

Blimey, what happened to good old British tolerance and decency??

Actually, I posted a genuine thread which highlighted my concern that there are wealthy LLs who rent out properties only to students, which , in turn, deprives councils of revenue. Maybe if you bothered to read my posts carefully then you would recognise that fact. And would you care to enlighten me as to where I whinged and moaned, as you put it?

Mind_the_Gap

Numberlock wrote: »

Actually, I posted a genuine thread which highlighted my concern that there are wealthy LLs who rent out properties only to students, which , in turn, deprives councils of revenue. Maybe if you bothered to read my posts carefully then you would recognise that fact. And would you care to enlighten me as to where I whinged and moaned, as you put it?

artful has a point and you seem hell-bent on ignoring all the reasons you have been offered as to why it would be inappropriate to make students pay CT!

Wealthy LLs who let only to students? I think you are missing the point, really. Setting aside the point that some LLs are indeed liable for their student house's CT, students have to live somewhere and it usually works better if they live together as their lives follow different patterns from families' or young professionals' lives. Unless all the Ts are non-students, the workers (who are often low paid) end up bearing the whole burden on the CT which doesn't seem fair.

Councils subsidise the cost of providing services to the student-heavy areas of cities from the other areas, and to be honest, most students do not need schools (they tend not to have children) or libraries or sports facilities (they have them on campus). They pay the same for public transport as everyone else.

In any case there is little point moaning on this forum about the system - write to your MP if you disagree so strongly!

DVardysShadow

Numberlock wrote: »

My problem with this particular situation is that someone can own dozens of properties, cram 4 -5 students into a house which is really only suitable for 3 people (for example) and charge extortionate rent and yet that landlord is not liable to pay a tax in lieu of Council Tax. What a loophole, that is!

I think your concern is rather contrived. Basically, if the Landlords played fair according to the above, they would need about 50% more houses to place students 3 to a house. This would result in even more loss of CT revenue.

Mind_the_Gap

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I think your concern is rather contrived. Basically, if the Landlords played fair according to the above, they would need about 50% more houses to place students 3 to a house. This would result in even more loss of CT revenue.

I agree. And I cannot see how LLs can pack 5-6 students into a 3 bedroomed house. The days are long gone when students would be willing to share a bedroom. They insist on a double room each these days.

Benji

Numberlock wrote: »

My problem with this particular situation is that someone can own dozens of properties, cram 4 -5 students into a house which is really only suitable for 3 people (for example) and charge extortionate rent and yet that landlord is not liable to pay a tax in lieu of Council Tax. What a loophole, that is!

As per the other posters, I can not see why you expect the landlord to pay council tax for these properties - the council tax is a fee for the services provided by the council, and it is the occupiers who use those services, so it is they who should pay unless they are exempt.

There are of course strict legal limits on the number of occupants allowed in a Home In Multiple Occupation.

Remember, as with any business, if you add costs to the supplier (landlord), the costs to the user (rent) will rise. Look at the effect 'green taxes' have had on your power bills.

Numberlock

...artful has a point and you seem hell-bent on ignoring all the reasons you have been offered as to why it would be inappropriate to make students pay CT! Where did I state that students should pay CT??? I would never advocate that students pay CT! A word of advice - take the time to read other people's posts carefully before you make such inaccurate and inane comments.

Wealthy LLs who let only to students? I think you ar missing the point, really. Setting aside the point that some LLs are indeed liable for their student house's CT, students have to live somewhere and it usually works better if they live together as their lives follow different patterns from families' or young professionals' lives. Unless all the Ts are non-students, the workers (who are often low paid) end up bearing the whole burden on the CT which doesn't seem fair.

Councils subsidise the cost of providing services to the student-heavy areas of cities from the other areas, and to be honest, most students do not need schools (they tend not to have children) or libraries or sports facilities (they have them on campus). They pay the same for public transport as everyone else. Hmmm, a tad condescending....

In any case there is little point moaning on this forum about the system - write to your MP if you disagree so strongly!Will do. Thanks for the gracious advice.