Council tax - HMO - question

melb

hi there my son is in an HMO sharing with 7 other people - each person has their own tenancy contract. They have their own bedroom and share kitchen living room and bathrooms. The property is registered as an HMO with the local authority.
He is the only one who is working and not a student.
He has today received a Council tax bill in his name and also the name of one of the students (they were the first 2 people to move into the property)
I understand that HMOs which are let fully to students are exempt from Council Tax but from what i can see online, it appears that the Council Tax bill should be in the landlord's name and he is responsible for paying it.
This is a managed property owned by a property developer/managing agent company. and the landlord lives elsewhere.
My son's contract for rent includes utilities but not Council tax but is he really responsible for paying the entire amount (well over £1000)? I don't know if the students' contracts say similar.
thanks for any advice

CIS

A licensed HMO is not automatically a HMO for Council Tax purposes - they use two separate definitions of HMO.

A key aspect is what his T/A says - is it a joint one for the entire the property or is it just for a room in the building ?

The wording of the contract regarding Council Tax liability is immaterial for Council Tax purposes - the liability will be determined only with respect to legislation.

Craig

melb

thanks for the reply. Each person has their own contract for their particular room in the house

CIS

I should add that , if it does not fall to be a Council Tax HMO, then your son as the only non-student will fall liable for the entire charge (less 25%) - as per section 6 of the LGFA92.

If it is not a Council Tax HMO then none of the students will be jointly liable with your son (assuming the council have sufficient information to disregard the students).

Craig

melb

thanks. Would it be regarded as unfair if the letting agent who is also the owner did not make a 20 year old first time renter aware of this when he signed the contract?

CIS

melb wrote: »

thanks for the reply. Each person has their own contract for their particular room in the house

If the agreement is only for a specific room then it falls under Section 8 of the LGFA92 and the Council Tax (liability for owners) regulations 1992 (as amended). This will make the property a HMO for Council Tax purposes.

Craig

anselld

Likewise it depends what the contract states about Council Tax. It could be a CT HMO with the Landlord liable but it may still have a term in the contract requiring the T to reimburse the L for any CT Liability.

dimbo61

Was your 20 year old son a Student when he signed the contract ?
Why did he join a group of 6 students in renting a property ?
What does it say in the tenancy agreement about Council Tax.

agrinnall

melb wrote: »

thanks. Would it be regarded as unfair if the letting agent who is also the owner did not make a 20 year old first time renter aware of this when he signed the contract?

No of course not, it's not the responsibility of a LL to inform tenants of their council tax liability. You're aware of CT, why didn't you tell him?

sitesafe

If the others are full time students they are exempt as mentioned - as he is the only council tax liable person in the property then I would have thought he'd be entitled to the 25% single person discount. I'm sure when i had a lodger who was a full time student, I still got the single person's discount. He would have to contact the council and apply for it but it's easily done. However i can see your point if he had rented a house to himself he would still get 25% off, whereas he's sharing with others so I guess it's a bit annoying

saajan_12

If there was more than one non-student sharer in a HMO, all on separate contracts, then who would be liable for the council tax if the council don't class it as a HMO? Can you be made jointly liable with strangers? Even if you agreed an equal split among the sharers, the LL can evict / replace the others with students, which one tenant has no control over, yet their CT bill could sky rocket.

I thought this was partly why the LL was liable to the council in an HMO (and can charge it on to tenants through rent)..