Non student living in a student house

katiekat26

I am a non student living in a student property and I have been having all sorts of issues with my landlord. The one that's a sticking point at the moment though is council tax. In my contract there is absolutely no mention of it so am I liable?

I have been trawling through websites and from what I can tell it's the landlords duty unless stated otherwise but it would be great if I could get advice from an expert or someone who knows from experience.

Notmyrealname

In a HMO, the LL is usually responsible for it however if it was a student let then there would normally be none to pay if it were occupied by students.

irishjohn

This is lifted from Direct.Gov website page about Council tax

Council Tax exemptions Some properties are classed as 'exempt' from Council Tax. This means they won't receive a Council Tax bill. They include:
student halls of residence and houses lived in only by full-time students

If you are the only non student living in the house, you have lost the house its exemption and therefore you are responsible for the council tax for the property. Is there a reason for you choosing to live with Students in what has been let as student accom?

katiekat26

I was a student myself when I let the property, unfortunately a medical condition meant I had to leave my course.

irishjohn

How long have you been a tenant? When did you lose your student status? How long is left on your contract? Did you rent just one room or did you jointly rent the house with the other occupants?

anselld

It is an HMO. The LL is responsible, however most tenancy agreemnts would include a requirement to pay for bills including council tax. Are you sure there is nothing covering bills in general or council tax specifically?

In all fairness your circumstances have cuased the council tax liability so if you want to live there you should pay. You would have to pay i you lived elsewhere anyway, although you would be better advised to share with other non-students.

katiekat26

My lease started in July but I did not move in until September. I haven't actually officially been de registered as a student but the university consider me to not be a student.

My contract is until next June and I pay £75 a week for a room and utilities in the house. However I haven't managed to pay any rent to my landlord as he insists on cash and is reluctant to give me bank details. I have it all sitting in a savings account until I get proper payment instructions.

My contract looks like something a child could have written, its printed off a computer and there are scribbles out in pen and little bits added on. It's a very vague contract and the house itself is not up to a high standard. It was uninhabitable at first because there was no kitchen fitted.

Overall I wish I had never moved in, it has caused me nothing but stress.

irishjohn

Difficult one - I imagine a council tax bill may have been sent to the previous occupants and they applied for student exemption. It is possible that no council tax demand will be made again until next April. Delays in administration / assumptions by Council could mean no demand is made if the house has been student accom for some years.

If you are not really connected to the other tenants then your problem is quite complex and I would recommend a visit to CAB along with the shoddy sounding document representing a tenancy agreement. I am not even going to ask if your deposit has been safeguarded in a deposit scheme but if the landlord is being difficult and you have yet to pay your rent for last month and this month but the landlord wants cash then I would continue to with hold it and get a clear idea of how you stand.

anselld

katiekat26 wrote: »

My lease started in July but I did not move in until September. I haven't actually officially been de registered as a student but the university consider me to not be a student.

My contract is until next June and I pay £75 a week for a room and utilities in the house. However I haven't managed to pay any rent to my landlord as he insists on cash and is reluctant to give me bank details. I have it all sitting in a savings account until I get proper payment instructions.

My contract looks like something a child could have written, its printed off a computer and there are scribbles out in pen and little bits added on. It's a very vague contract and the house itself is not up to a high standard. It was uninhabitable at first because there was no kitchen fitted.

Overall I wish I had never moved in, it has caused me nothing but stress.

It is you responsibility to pay rent. Give LL a cheque.
The quality of the contract presentation is not relevant; what does it actually say about bills/ council tax?

G_M

You are wise not to pay cash (and to keep the rent set aside) unless the LL is prepared to give you a written receipt.

He does not have to give you bank details. You DO have to pay rent. But if he is refusing a receipt you're wise not to pay cash. If he IS willing to give a receipt, you should pay. Or why not give a cheque?

Check your local councilt's website for their definition of a licenced HMO (house of multiple occupation) They vary by council, howevr this sounds like one. If it fits your councils criteria for registered HMO then
a) it should be registered (the council can tell you if it is and
b) council tax is the responsibility of the landlord

anselld

G_M wrote: »

You are wise not to pay cash (and to keep the rent set aside) unless the LL is prepared to give you a written receipt.

He does not have to give you bank details. You DO have to pay rent. But if he is refusing a receipt you're wise not to pay cash. If he IS willing to give a receipt, you should pay. Or why not give a cheque?

Check your local councilt's website for their definition of a licenced HMO (house of multiple occupation) They vary by council, howevr this sounds like one. If it fits your councils criteria for registered HMO then
a) it should be registered (the council can tell you if it is and
b) council tax is the responsibility of the landlord

CT is the responsibility of LL in HMO anyway, licenced or not.