housemate drama

ZaraLynziHodson

Both me and my OH say don't pay her anything, if she is willing to spend money going to the small claims court then let her, it will most likely be that the courts side with you and you won't have to pay her a penny, she can't request anything for the Internet as she took out the contract in her name and not yours, you didn't request the contract. If the council has taken your name off the tax bill then you owe nothing for that either...

bristol_pilot

In summary, the approach I would take is - if the council sends you a bill for council tax, pay it; if a court orders you to pay something into court, pay it. Pay nothing to your ex-housemate whatsoever. I wouldn't write her a note - it would be too easy to 'admit' something by accident.

It might be worth checking with the utilities (gas/electric/water) that your name is not on the bills at your former abode as, in practice, the companies will often put the bills in any name given to them by anyone who rings them up - they shouldn't, but they do.

G_M

taram wrote: »

My previous housemate and I weren't getting on very well due to her behaviour so I decided to leave. We had a rental contract from July 2011-Jan 2012 so when I left in October I paid up the rest of my contract, handed the keys in, got the estate agent to check the house etc, paid all bills, including 2 months council tax extra so up to end of November. Estate agent was happy, I was happy.

Done I thought, I can move on! Brilliant!

Now the housemate is claiming I owe her council tax in Dec and Jan, and half the cancellation for the internet, which is 100+ for my share as she foolishly took out an expensive 18 month contract, despite knowing we'd be there for 6 months. She's bringing me to the small claims court she says!

What can I do? She knows where my new house is!

So you remain a tenant with an AST until Jan - you've just paid in advance that's all.

Hence you will be jointly liable for council tax. Has she actually paid the CT for Dec/Jan and is claiming half off you? If so, that is a private matter between the two of you. Or is it unpaid, in which case the council could pursue either, or both, of you for the unpaid tax.

If the internet/other bills ar in her name, then the same applies - those companies ill chase her for paymnt, and it is a private matter between the two of you whether you contribute or not.

taram_2

bristol_pilot wrote: »

It might be worth checking with the utilities (gas/electric/water) that your name is not on the bills at your former abode as, in practice, the companies will often put the bills in any name given to them by anyone who rings them up - they shouldn't, but they do.

Luckily the estate agent tipped me off that I was put on the bills! I was not on the bills when I lived there (housemate wanted control of them so she could get cashback and clubcard points etc), I paid my share by debit card each time. But when I left she put me on all the bills, the companies took me back off though.

taram_2

G_M wrote: »

So you remain a tenant with an AST until Jan - you've just paid in advance that's all.

Hence you will be jointly liable for council tax. Has she actually paid the CT for Dec/Jan and is claiming half off you? If so, that is a private matter between the two of you. Or is it unpaid, in which case the council could pursue either, or both, of you for the unpaid tax.

Okay, I didn't know that, she had said our 3rd housemate who left and paid up rental was exempt from council tax as she "was out of contract." This was rubbish I now suspect!!

I think she's not paid it, I paid half of December as I paid from 14th July- 14th December in a lump sum as I had won some money and wanted to pay it off in advance. I'll ring the council tomorrow and see if it's been paid, and I'll pay up.

KateLiana27

It is fraudulent to add someone to a bill without their consent.

I assume she must have pretended to be you when she called up the companies.

Have you asked the companies how this could have happened?

clutton_2

OP say "" since I haven't had a rental agreement there since October" - legally that is utterly untrue.... you signed a binding agreement from July to January and unless you have written agreement from the landlord for an early release, you are legally liable for all of the rent until this month.

the word Fixed Term in your tenancy agreement was the clue

bristol_pilot

G_M is right that you were still a tenant and potentially liable to council tax, but if you were living elsewhere and paying CT at your new address during this period you may be entitled to a second home discount at your old address - what's the chances that your ex-housemate has been claiming the 25% single-occupier discount off the CT and then asking you to pay half?!!

Council tax can get complicated - go to the council offices, explain the true situation, who lived where and when, and they will tell you what you owe if anything. If you do owe something, pay it to the council direct, not the ex-housemate.

BitterAndTwisted

Have you received anything in writing from the agent/landlord accepting that you've surrendered your tenancy? Was this tenancy originally a joint one between all three parties or did you each have separate ones?

bristol_pilot

KateLiana27 wrote: »

It is fraudulent to add someone to a bill without their consent.

I assume she must have pretended to be you when she called up the companies.

Have you asked the companies how this could have happened?

Whilst it is indeed fraudulent, the companies carry out no checks whatsoever on the identity of the person calling.