Urgent help needed - Housemate not paid our council tax

purpleroseofcairo

Apologies if this is in the wrong place, I'm not sure where to post it. Feel free to move it.

I hope this is clear:

I moved into a shared house (private tenancy via an estate agent) in February with two random people (they knew each other before, I didn't know them).

One of my housemates took responsibility for paying our bills, including council tax. I have been paying my share of the council tax to my housemate on a monthly basis on the understanding that she was then paying the council on a monthly basis.

It turns out that she hasn't been. The council have told me in writing (I went to the council offices with a query about something else and they told me) that they have only received about £450 in council tax payments from us this year (paid at random times and in random amounts) - the actual amount we should have paid is roughly £1050.

My housemate insists that she has paid the council tax (even though I have shown her written proof that she has not). I have told my housemate that if she does not pay the council the money that is owed then I will not pay her my share of any of last month's bills.

An added complication is that both of my housemates are moving out at the end of the month, with new tenants moving in. The other housemate (not the one responsible for the bills) is actually leaving the country for good.

Because I have told my housemate that I will not pay her for the other bills until she resolves the council tax, she is now threatening to change all of the bills over to my name and not pay them before she moves out of the property at the end of the month, leaving me with the debt.

If my housemate refuses to pay the council tax, the council are obviously going to pursue - I'm the easiest to pursue as I'm not leaving the property. If I can prove that I have paid money to the other housemate with the understanding that it would be used to pay the council tax, will the council leave me alone and simply pursue her instead? Is this something that's probably going to have to be settled in court? Can my housemate just add my name to the other bills, or remove herself and leave me as the only name on the accounts (I don't actually know if I'm currently named on the utility bills or just her)?

Advice welcome please.

pmlindyloo

Do you have a joint tenancy or individual tenancies?

purpleroseofcairo

A joint tenancy. We're only responsible for our own rent though - so it is just the bills we've been paying together. (if that makes any difference)

RAS

I suggest you start by making sure that her rent is also up to date as otherwise you get stung for that cost as well.

Have either of the departing tenants given formal notice to the LL?

Who is the lead tenant on the contract and in whose name is the deposit registered?

pmlindyloo

Just asking because if you had individual tenancies then it would be an HMO and your landlord would be responsible for the council tax!

So the bad news is that you and your house mates are jointly responsible for the council tax (even if you are not named on the bill)

As such they will chase any of you for the arrears.

They will not be interested in the arrangements that you made to pay council tax. That is between you and your house mates.

A difficult situation as you would need to take the person to whom you paid the council tax money to court. You would need evidence that you had paid the CT amounts (bank statement?)

However, in view of the fact that they are leaving it puts you in a very awkward position.

My suggestion would be to find out whether the utility bills are in your house mate's name only. If they are then she is liable for any debts and you could just not pay her next month. They can, in theory, chase you for the debt but this may depend on whether your house mate told them she was paying it on behalf of all of you.

Hopefully others might have some good suggestions.

How was your house mate paying the CT - through a DD? Has she proof that she paid it?

pmlindyloo

About council tax and shared accommodation

https://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Benefits%20and%20Council%20Tax/Council%20Tax/Who-pays.aspx

pmlindyloo

Just had another thought. Look at your tenancy agreement.

If your house mate does not pay the utility bill then there may be a clause in the agreement that says that the bill can be taken out of her deposit.

purpleroseofcairo

Thank you very much.

I'd assumed my housemate was paying via monthly direct debit, but it seems she has instead paid random amounts as a bank transfer. The statement I have does show a few reversed direct debit attempts in April and May (for a few hundred pounds in total, so not the full amount but still a lot closer) - so it seems that she did attempt to pay and would need to speak to her bank about why they were reversed.

She hasn't offered any proof that she's paid or even that she has now checked whats happened with the bank - she's just said that the council tax statement is wrong.

FBaby

The key issue is whether you can prove that you've paid her your share specifically for council tax. Was it a standing order/DD that clearly says for bills and CC? If it just say bills, it could be argued that it didn't include CC. If it just regular amount of cash withdrawn, same thing, unless you can show a piece of paper signed by her that clearly states the breakdown of what you gave her and this amounts to what you paid her every month.

RAS

Do you know where she is going when she leaves? Have you ever seen a wage slip belonging to her?

purpleroseofcairo

The lead tenant on the contract and the person with responsibility for the deposit is the housemate who is leaving the country.