appointeeship and council tax

bornjoyful

I have appointeeship conferred by the DWP and recieve ESA, DLA , HB in someone elses name, lets call him JOhn, into my bank account where i disemburse to him, and all utilities.
I am having a major problem with Bristol City Council. The housing benefit people are fine in letting me know what is going on and using my address but council tax will not CC me into any bills/ debt so I have no way of knowing whether John is in debt with them. I know what his share is for CT- he is on benefits and is asked to pay £5 a week from his benefits but he has a working roomate who takes the bills and hides/ forgets to mention / doesnt pay. This means John is 'jointly and severably ' liable and hence the bill becomes MY problem and I end up paying roomies share out of Johns benefits .
I have a couple of questions. Legal questions.
1) As the appointee am I jointly and severably liable or is John ?
2) As the appointee should bills be addressed to me and roomie at Johns address or is it possible to send seperate copies of bills to me at my home and one to and roomie/ John?
I did find a section (C3) about appointees here- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-and-council-tax-benefit-guidance-part-c specifically part 3.190 however i am beginning to wonder if the new rules in CT reductions mean that CT is not considered as a benefit only a reduction and hence my appointeeship means diddlysquat to them and the outstanding laibility , not being considered a 'benefit' either' would remain Johns. any advice?

Housing_Benefit_Officer

What are they renting and is it self contained? Whose names are on the tenancy?

bornjoyful

its a joint tenancy- lardlord won't do seperate. 4 room house each over 35 yrs old so one bedroom rate each

stevemLS

Appointeeship is for the purpose of managing DWP benefits only.

Some other institutions recognise it as authority to act but are under no obligation to do so. The link you posted suggests there is statutory authority to do so in the case of HB and CTB. But, the question you ask is about Council Tax - which is not a benefit. So, no, the Council Tax people are not obliged to tell you anything whatever about John's account.

To have full authority to act you need either a Power of Attorney (and John must have the mental capacity to grant that) or you need to be a Deputy for finance and affairs appointed by the Court of Protection.

bornjoyful

thank you for the reply , Steve. Do you mind sending me in the correct direction to the guidance and legislation which can back up what you state? Thanks

bornjoyful

Guidance
Agents, appointees, attorneys, deputies and third parties: staff guide





From:Department for Work and PensionsHistory:Published 2 September 2013


3.50 If DWP have already accepted a Power of Attorney or appointee, use the same appointee details when processing Housing Benefit (HB) or Council Tax Benefit (CTB).Claimant has appointee for another social security
benefit
3.190 If the claimant is also receiving another social security benefit they may already have an
appointee whom the DWP office have appointed. If they have, regulations allow you to treat
that appointee as the appointee for HB/CTB providing that appointee applies in writing to the
authority. You do not have to follow the DWP office lead and can reject the their appointee
for HB/CTB. However, this would only happen in unusual circumstances

CIS

He needs to make a written statement to the council giving you whatever level of authority to access he wishes you to have for his council tax account - unless you have an overriding authority from the court of protection or similar then separate authority needs to be provided.

stevemLS

The main DWP staff guidance is here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procedures-for-dealing-with-agents-appointees-attorneys-deputies-and-third-parties

I am afraid I don't know what statutory provision is referred to in the HB guidance you linked to.

Deputies and Lasting Powers of Attorney are covered by the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

10pence

bornjoyful wrote: »

its a joint tenancy- lardlord won't do seperate. 4 room house each over 35 yrs old so one bedroom rate each

That's because it will be classed as property of multiple occupancy and the landlord will be liable for council tax; that is each tenant rents part of property and has individual tenancy.

Having said that...LINK or LINK. If going down this route might be best to get further advice or provide more info on the housing situation.