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Council tax: do ALL people in the house need to be declared?
-Zigo
Posts: 33 Forumite
Theoretical situation:
Person A and Person B live together in a house and pay council tax in full.
Person C wants to move in temporarily with A and B.
As C is a friend or family member, A and B let C stay free of charge, i.e. not as a tenant. In other words, it would be an extended version of having C stay over for a night/weekend/week/etc. (except that C wouldn't have a different home address)
First questions:
Does C need to be declared to the council for tax purposes?
As long as the tax is being paid in full, is there anything wrong with not declaring?
Next questions:
When C moves to a new place and registers for council tax, he gives A&B's address as his previous address. Would A&B get checked for whether C really lived there? If so, would they get into trouble if it wasn't declared previously? Even if it were deemed an issue of some kind, neither A&B nor C would be liable to pay any extra tax because it's already been paid, so surely there shouldn't be an issue?
Person A and Person B live together in a house and pay council tax in full.
Person C wants to move in temporarily with A and B.
As C is a friend or family member, A and B let C stay free of charge, i.e. not as a tenant. In other words, it would be an extended version of having C stay over for a night/weekend/week/etc. (except that C wouldn't have a different home address)
First questions:
Does C need to be declared to the council for tax purposes?
As long as the tax is being paid in full, is there anything wrong with not declaring?
Next questions:
When C moves to a new place and registers for council tax, he gives A&B's address as his previous address. Would A&B get checked for whether C really lived there? If so, would they get into trouble if it wasn't declared previously? Even if it were deemed an issue of some kind, neither A&B nor C would be liable to pay any extra tax because it's already been paid, so surely there shouldn't be an issue?
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Comments
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AFAIK, as long as the Council Tax is being paid in full, it doesn't matter how many people are living there.
I think you only need to register people living at the property when you receive a Voter's Registration Form, which is a legal requirement.0 -
As C is not a tenant, nor an owner, nor a sole or joint occupier, he/she has no liability for CT, they are just a lodger. In such circumstances, for CT purposes the council does not need to be informed.
However if their status as a lodger changes, then the council should be informed.If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales0 -
Just out of interest, what has it got to do with the Council if someone decides to get a lodger - assuming they're not claiming Single Person Discount of course?0
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That's what I thought.lincroft1710 wrote: »As C is not a tenant, nor an owner, nor a sole or joint occupier, he/she has no liability for CT, they are just a lodger. In such circumstances, for CT purposes the council does not need to be informed.
Is there any time limit on this? e.g. if C stays for 6 months? A year?0 -
No time limit in such cases.If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales0
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The council doesnot need to know the names, or number, of people living there.
You are thinking perhaps of the old (scrapped) Poll Tax?
They need to know the name of the main resident (owner, tenant etc) who is the account holder and pays the council tax. That's all.
Of course, if only ONEperson lives there, that account holder can declare they live alone and claim 25% single person discount.
Are you also perhaps getting confused with the Electoral Register? This does require registration by nameof ALL over 18s in occupation, so they can vote.0 -
Your overlooking the fact that council tax legislation often makes more than 1 person liable for the council tax charge on the property - the council need to know who is resident so that the bill is correctly issued.They need to know the name of the main resident (owner, tenant etc) who is the account holder and pays the council tax. That's all.
The council have the legal powers to request details of the residents in the property so that they can make the determination regarding liability - Regs 3 & 4 of the council tax (administration & enforcement) regs 1992.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
Is there any time limit on this? e.g. if C stays for 6 months? A year?
As soon as the property becomes their 'sole or main residence' then they become resident as far as council tax is concerned and cease being a visitor or a temporary occupier.
The onus may not be on you to declare them as being resident per se but if the council request the details you need to supply them.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
Your overlooking the fact that council tax legislation often makes more than 1 person liable for the council tax charge on the property - the council need to know who is resident so that the bill is correctly issued.
The council have the legal powers to request details of the residents in the property so that they can make the determination regarding liability - Regs 3 & 4 of the council tax (administration & enforcement) regs 1992.
Thanks CIS.
So is there a legal rqmt on moving into a property to list all (adult) occupants?
Surely most people just ring up/write etc (eg a wife for example) and say "I've moved in. Please send me a bill" or similar? And the council register her name and send out a bill?0 -
If the main occupants are claiming benefits and/or any income based CT Reduction then the fact that there is another occupant is relevant.
As the others have also said, the third occupant would need to be added to the address for the purposes of the Electoral Register0
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