Council Tax Arrear

CIS

First you need to check that the house you were staying in was HMO registered for multiple occupancy.

Registered HMO or not , if it meets the criteria for a council tax HMO then its a HMO.

BUT if one person in the house works then EVERYONE becomes liable for Council Tax.

Only the non-student would be liable (unless the students held the higher interest in the property).

The contract did state we must be liable for the CT payments, none of whom were students. I've spoke to Scott and Co and because they only have my details, they say I'm the liable party...but you disagree and say that it's joint, is this correct? I would of thought so. Then surely technically is should be divided quarterly.

A contract cannot state you are liable for council tax if legislation says otherwise (legislation always makes the decision) - did you rent it with the other 5 as a joint tenancy or did you just pay for an room in the property and pay your own share of the rent.

Hodgy09

The contract was a joint tenancy agreement, so we are all liable. As I said before I've sent the details to Scott and Co, will they chase him now too?

RAS

They will chase both of you for the full amount.

Best thing is to talk to the other person and agree a way of paying half each (or whatever your portion is.

The bailiffs do not care where the money comes from.

Hodgy09

RAS wrote: »

They will chase both of you for the full amount.

Best thing is to talk to the other person and agree a way of paying half each (or whatever your portion is.

The bailiffs do not care where the money comes from.

I know I can get in contact with 1 of the 4. But, the bailiffs dont care where the money from so long as it's paid. If thats the case and I pay them, could I sue the others in a court of law

RAS

You can only sue someone if you know where they live, as otherwise you cannot serve notice. And it costs.

Does the other bod know where any of the other people are?

Hodgy09

RAS wrote: »

You can only sue someone if you know where they live, as otherwise you cannot serve notice. And it costs.

Does the other bod know where any of the other people are?

I went to the council today, as advised by Scott and Company. To my disgust they told me I would be liable for the whole amount, as they hold no address details for any of the others involved with the bill. I told them they are all still living in the city and I'm sure you could find them. But, they have no address details for all of them! CRAZY! Which makes me the one target. Great!

So basically it's a case of me trying to get the others to pay and help me out. I only have contact with 1 of them and that's just not good enough. I've given work details for 2 of them and contact numbers, does that even help?

It seems that they are just happy enough hitting me for the entire sum!

I can't see a way around this at the moment and I dont have £1500 sitting around!

Hodgy09

The only way I can take these people to court is with their home address??

BigAunty

RAS wrote: »

You can only sue someone if you know where they live, as otherwise you cannot serve notice. And it costs.

Does the other bod know where any of the other people are?

I think in Scotland it is possible to bring a small claims case when the claimant's address is unknown unlike England/Wales. If I remember correctly, there is some kind of note put up in court or in a newspaper advertisement when the address is not known.

Though, how you enforce a claim if you don't know where they live or their bank details, I don't know.

I also don't understand why those pursuing the debt don't do a trace on the others, unless they have common names or don't know their date of birth which makes it harder (think how common John Smith is...!). I expect it is simply easier and cheaper to pursue you because of the joint/several nature of the CT bill.

Are you planning to go back to Australia? Other than that, apart from moving bank account, address, employers and having your mail sent to a PO box, I can't think how you can avoid being clobbered.