Renting a property with all bills included

Eliza_2

Morning all

There's a chance that a nice cottage will soon become available which is part of a farm. At present the rent includes all utilities, so oil, electric, water, septic tank emptying etc - might even include council tax.

Other than the fact that I wouldn't be able to change suppliers, is there anything else I should be aware of? The landlord is a friend's family member so I don't want to feel I'm overspending on utilities and them be out of pocket, nor do I want to be overcharged by them. On the other hand at least it would be one fixed price a month for everything which would be an advantage. I'd much prefer to organise all these things myself separately but I think many services are shared anyway by the farm so it wouldn't be possible.

I don't really know how to calculate whether I'm getting a good deal on the rent either so it's all a bit confusing.

Any guidance, esp from anyone who rents under a similar arrangement, would be good, thanks. Pros and cons.

Thank you - Liz

00ec25

for council tax - as the resident of a dwelling which apparently has its own CT band then you, and only you, is legally liable for the CT. If the LL pays it on your behalf then the council should refund any money they receive back to the LL and send you the bill anyway. This is set out in legislation - google "hierarchy of liability"

as for the rest:
- an all inclusive rate appeals for the reason you state but obviously has great potential to become a source of tension if the LL has got their sums wrong. Add into that the possible emotional connection of you not wanting to upset your friend and his relative then only you can decide if that's a risk you want to go with

- It sounds like its almost certain that the farm has only one meter hence the bills cannot be split. I'd want to be sure I was not subsidising the farmer's own usage! The only suggestion I can think of to check that is to compare the total cost of this farm property against total costs of other places, I assume you have some idea of how much you spend on gas, electric etc to be able to compare total monthly costs

- might be worth finding out of the dwelling is an ex granny annex, or ex holiday annex or what as would give you an idea whether the LL has any experience in pricing and also in how to treat tenants

Guest101

Well you need to find the equivalent home, without bills included and then see the price difference in rent.

If you think you can get the bills paid cheaper than the difference, then dont get it. and vice versa.

Guest101

00ec25 wrote: »

for council tax - as the resident of a dwelling which apparently has its own CT band then you, and only you, is legally liable for the CT. If the LL pays it on your behalf then the council should refund any money they receive back to the LL and send you the bill anyway. This is set out in legislation - google "hierarchy of liability"

as for the rest:
- an all inclusive rate appeals for the reason you state but obviously has great potential to become a source of tension if the LL has got their sums wrong. Add into that the possible emotional connection of you not wanting to upset your friend and his relative then only you can decide if that's a risk you want to go with

- It sounds like its almost certain that the farm has only one meter hence the bills cannot be split. I'd want to be sure I was not subsidising the farmer's own usage! The only suggestion I can think of to check that is to compare the total cost of this farm property against total costs of other places, I assume you have some idea of how much you spend on gas, electric etc to be able to compare total monthly costs

- might be worth finding out of the dwelling is an ex granny annex, or ex holiday annex or what as would give you an idea whether the LL has any experience in pricing and also in how to treat tenants

The tenant is liable for the CT, but the LL is perfectly entitled to pay it on behalf of the tenant.

As long as the information is correct on the occupier, where the money comes from is nothing to do with liability to the council

Its a private contract between LL & T

Kynthia

You'd want to be sure the LL was actually paying the council tax as its you the council will chase later. You would then need to pay the arrears and take the LL to small claims court with evidence that your contract stated that it was included. Other than that I don't think there'd be massive problems having bills included if I was happy with the price, but is there a clause about future increases or restrictions on usage?

CIS

The tenant is liable for the CT, but the LL is perfectly entitled to pay it on behalf of the tenant.

The occupier is then reliant on the landlord paying and paying on time- this often falls apart and the tenant gets a large bill. I've seen this numerous times and thousands of pounds become due.

Vectis

theartfullodger wrote: »

........
Further (and landlord may not realise this..) if it is a part of the building the landlord lives in & was not built as "purpose built flats" then it cannot (may not..) be let as an AST (See clause 10 of Schedule 1 of Housing Act 1988). Thus the usual protections of deposit protection & landlord having to go through processes for eviction don;t apply. Landlord would still need to go through court to evict but it would be quicker.

I can see where you're coming from, but the OP says it's a cottage on a farm which I would take to be a separate building and therefore ok to let on an AST rather than a lodger agreement.

tim123456789

Guest101 wrote: »

The tenant is liable for the CT, but the LL is perfectly entitled to pay it on behalf of the tenant.

As long as the information is correct on the occupier, where the money comes from is nothing to do with liability to the council

Its a private contract between LL & T

but doing it this way makes it very difficult for the tenant to get the benefits of any discounts that they may be entitled to

tim

RAS

Vectis wrote: »

I can see where you're coming from, but the OP says it's a cottage on a farm which I would take to be a separate building and therefore ok to let on an AST rather than a lodger agreement.

Could well be a cottage with an agricultural restriction on it?

Eliza_2

Golly gosh, lots of responses, thank you so much.

Lots also for me to think about. It definitely isn't a holiday cottage or a granny annexe as it's the original farmhouse, they then built a newer one and let this one to a long term tenant. However, it could have an ag tie on it, that's a point. Not sure how I'd find out about that, though if the previous tenant wasn't an ag worker and lived there for 10 yrs without being sussed I believe the agricultural tie can be lifted.

I'm entitled to single person's council tax discount so would need to calculate that into the mix though it will be more than where I am now - a similar cottage on the lowest possible ct band as it hasn't been revalued since it was a one-up-one-down. The septic tank and water supply is shared so that's a freebie probably anyway.

I'm going to have to find a way of having a serious business discussion with them, hopefully they will see then that I wish to keep the rental side separate from the friend side and view it the same, then we can all be clear where we stand.

Feel quite excited about the possibility of moving - bring it on!

Thanks all.

angrypirate

Also, bear in mind that when you apply for credit you have no bills with your name and address on it. I imagine the LL is trying to escape from having to pay income tax. Make sure you also get on the voting register as well - if the LL is trying to avoid tax he may try to prevent you from doing this and this will also affect your credit rating.

Ensure that for all utilities, the LL doesnt want to restrict your usage - ie prevent you from using a tumble dryer, or restrict your hot water / heating. If he claims he wont then make sure its in the contract. If its not written down then assume the worst.