Student house but no longer a student!

tomandkath

My son and a bunch of his mates have signed a contract and paid a wacking deposit on a student house for next year (in theory year two of studies). However, he has now quit uni, but still hopes to live in the house with his mates. At what point would the landlord have checked that they were all students and therefore no council tax? At the point of contract or will he also at the beginning of the academic year? I can't see coming clean and paying the council tax for the entire house would be an option, but need to know if it's realistic for him to think he might live in the house or whether he needs to find someone else to take his place. Any advice, either from students or landlords would be really welcome!

Soot2006

It's nothing to do with the LL (edited to add: unless it's an HMO), it's the council that checks if you are a student, usually directly with the university. In theory they probably won't check again until the end of the academic year, however your son remains liable for the council tax and it is his responsibility to inform the council of his change of circumstances. This is why students rarely share with one non-student (legally)

G_M

If he is the only non student he should apply for a 25% single person discount.

Or he could keep quiet and join the 1000s of people who fiddle their benefit claims or tax returns, shop-lift, sell illegally imported tobacco in pubs or deal in drugs......

Brallaqueen

Your son will be asked for a council tax exemption form in the first week of term - these are issued to students on enrollment along with new student cards.

Some student accreditation schemes waive the requirement for proof as the targt market is going to be students but they do spot check.

I understand that legally HMO's council tax lies with the landlord in the first instance but the LL may end up coming after your son for payback, and depending on the area and size of house that can be a hefty wodge of cash.

In general, I'd say at least speak to the LL first. If it is a no-go there is still time for your son to find a replacement and get out of the contract at minimum cost.

Kynthia

The council will demand that the property pay council tax unless they receive exemption certificates from everyone. The council may even have the names of everyone living at the property from the landlord. As your son can't provide the certificate the property will be charged a single person rate for the year and everyone will expect him to pay it. He could become very unpopular otherwise. There are also severe penalities for not paying.

This happened to my sister and she had to pay.

mchale

Soot2006 wrote: »

It's nothing to do with the LL

Incorrect, LL is ultimately responsible for CT liability in a HMO/Student Let

silvercar

The big problem is that your son will need to pay council tax on the whole property less a 25% discount for being the only non exempt student living there.

00ec25

tomandkath wrote: »

My son and a bunch of his mates have signed a contract and paid a wacking deposit on a student house for next year (in theory year two of studies). However, he has now quit uni, but still hopes to live in the house with his mates.

so the uni will not issue him with his student exemption certificate for next year, we don't know what the arrangements are for that prioperty but typical possibilites are:

- the LL asks for a sight of the certifciates so as to ensure himself that everyone is exempt as, if it is an HMO, the LL is ultimately liable so wants to cover himself if he is claiming exemption on the basis all occupants are students

- the Uni sends certficiates directly to the council and they match against listed occupants (ubnless this is a brand new property then the council knows how many were there last year and are not stupid when it comes to matching records)

- the council sends a bill if they do not receive certifciates in advance from all residents

He may be able to become a benefit cheat and avoid his tax but it is high risk and not something a parent should be encouraging.

If he has dropped out of uni then he should be moving on with his life not trying to retain his student lifestyle - he is now in the big wide world and is liable for 75% of the CT for the entire property

princeofpounds

There is another issue to think about when not complying; if the council ever get a sense that he was avoiding council tax they will try recovery from anyone who was in the house, even if they had a student exemption.

Ultimately they may not get anything from the others, but I know from my friend's experience that they sometimes go as far as taking co-tenants to court. That's a really unpleasant experience and a guaranteed way to lose friends.

thegirlintheattic

When I was in a student let we got a bill at Christmas for council tax (4 of us at a uni that sends exemption forms to council, 1 at uni who didn't hence the bill).

Lokolo

Who is responsible for paying the bill?

While households can decide among themselves who contributes what, the law sets out who is actually responsible for paying the bill.

Members of a household are divided into categories - owner-occupier, tenant and so on - and for most households the person responsible is the one who appears nearest the top of the list which you can find in ‘Council Tax - who pays and how much’.

If there are two or more household members who fall into the same category, they’re usually jointly responsible for paying the whole bill.
But the rules are different if you’re considered a full-time student or not ‘counted’ because you’re in education or training.

In these circumstances, you can only be held responsible if you - and only you - are in a category that’s higher up the list than all other members of your household (for example, you’re an owner-occupier and everyone else is a tenant).

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/LifeAtUniversityOrCollege/DG_071488