what would happen if we didn't pay our last month's rent and council tax

sophlowe45

The reason i ask this question is, 5 of us were renting a flat together, two of these people lave already left the country and a third is leaving shortly...

hence i don't want to pay the last month's rent (and use the deposit to cover it) as otherwise i would just be paying my share not the total amount of rent due and the same goes for council tax i don't mind paying what i thought we had agreed on when i moved in with these people but i don't want to pay their share....

what can the landlord and council do if we miss one month's payment re: rent and council tax?

Thanks for any advice.

prudryden

If your name is on the contract, you could be held responsible for the entire rent, any damages, and, I would expect, for the council tax.

Stevenj214

Whoever has signed the lease is responsible. If you all signed the same lease then the landlord can chase any of you for payment.

MortgageMamma

What you are planning to do is dishonest and one of the things that gets done to landlords most. Its tantamount to theft. Your deposit is taken to cover any damage to the property, and probably to clean it once you have all left, not for rent purposes.

chant1l

And so in answer to your question - nothing will happen if you do. The landlord will leave the council to chase you, and will be unlikely to pursue you for breach or damages.

sophlowe45

thanks we're going to clean the property before we leave and we're going to be leaving it in a much cleaner state than wheh we moved in...

everyone's name is on the contract - should i just send a cheque for my share of the rent regardless of what the others will do? But that way i won't get my deposit back at all..

and same goes for council tax - they're not going to accept 1/5 of it are they?

Guy_Montag

I've done this in the past, depends on the LL/LA, if they've been a git then I would go down this route, on the other hand if they've been fair, explain it all to him & see if you can come to some arrangement.

PayDay

MortgageMamma wrote:

Your deposit is taken to cover any damage to the property, and probably to clean it once you have all left, not for rent purposes.

Shouldn't that be - Your deposit may be taken if there is any damage and if the property is not given back in the same condition it was given in? The landlord cannot demand the property back in a cleaner state than they gave it tothe tennant.

Landlords automatically keeping the deposit is one of the things that is done to tennants most, judging by the forums.

nrsql

I have never held back any deposit for a tenant that has paid the rent and have made some effort. Minor problems I am happy to live with.
Anyone that tries to get away without paying the rent I will pursue. The deposit I keep separate and is not used to cover rent.
I do not like people thinking they can live in my properties rent free when there are a lot of nice tenants who are willing to pay.

As to the council tax you would probably quickly get a ccj so if you are willing to live with that then fine.

It's thinking like this that causes landlords not to trust tenants.

masonic

and same goes for council tax - they're not going to accept 1/5 of it are they?

If the council tax is not paid in full, the council is likely to take it upon themselves to destroy the credit ratings of everyone recorded as living at the property.

liz545

If you think he/she is a reasonable person, have a word with your landlord. Explain that two of the tenants have left the property, and if you haven't already done so, give him notice that you'll be leaving next month. As the other two have left, he'll keep their deposit in lieu of notice, but unless you think there's a very good chance he'll be unreasonable about returning yours, I wouldn't just hold out. You may need a reference for the next place you rent, after all! If you can get in touch with your former flatmates, advise them that they need to pay X amount of council tax. There are 5 of you, and it's only 1 month, so that can't really be more than about £25/head, surely? Aside from the rights and wrongs of paying bills that you've run up, councils can be quite determined in pursuing people who owe them even a small amount of money, and will often get a court judgement against debtors, which is very bad for your credit rating.
As you're planning to leave the property in good nick, and you don't sound like a thoroughly bad tenant, I'd just advise being honest and paying what you owe.