Desperately need some help regarding council tax.

T_Payne

Hi all.

This is the first post I've done on here but I really need some advice. My girlfriend is in serious trouble regarding council tax. She's living in a student house with 2 students although she left university this year. When she got her first bill for council tax it included the bill for the 2 students who never had to pay council tax. She spoke to her landlord who said he would 'sort it out' so she never had to pay too much. She left it with him and now has been sent an urgent bill for over £800 with no option for installments. She is only a part time barmaid and can't afford that with rent and food and living costs. I want to help her but my credit history isn't too strong due to missing a couple of payments 2 summers ago. I don't know whether I can get a credit card or a loan for the full amount. I need to know whether she has a case for reducing the council tax bill, which I believe shouldn't be so high as she shouldn't pay council tax for her 2 friends? Or what credit options could be viable for myself or her. I'm really at a loss of what we can do and any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

sheramber

Full time students are disregarded. That does mean she is responsible for the whole bill but is entitled to 25% discount as a single occupier. She should contact the council tax department if she hasn't been given it.

CIS

Unless it's a council tax HMO then the landlord has no responsibilities regarding payment - if it is a council tax HMO then it's the landlords job to sort payment (although a contract may involved paying the landlord an equivalent amount). I think she may have learnt the hard way to not leave it to another person to sort out (goes wrong far too often but hindsight is a wonderful thing)

If it's a joint tenancy then -

If two out of the three occupiers remain as full time students (and the council have proof) then there should be a 25% discount. She needs to make sure the other two have supplied the council with their details.

At this time of year there should be 1 instalment if it's on the statutory 10 payment scheme (April to Jan). She has a statutory right (unless she has lost the right to pay by instalments) to have the charge spread over 12 months (i.e. Across the whole year from April to March - in this case she should get Jan - Mar as all that's left).

If it's a council tax HMO -

tell the council so that they can sort it with the landlord.

Craig

T_Payne

Thank you both for your reply. Any suggestions on how I can find that money fast between us?

T_Payne

Actually how can I find out if the property is an HMO? My girlfriend and the two student friends are sharing a kitchen, bathroom etc. Does that make it an HMO?

anselld

T_Payne wrote: »

Actually how can I find out if the property is an HMO? My girlfriend and the two student friends are sharing a kitchen, bathroom etc. Does that make it an HMO?

For it to be HMO for Council Tax purposes they would each need to have a separate tenancy agreement for their individual room. If they are all on a joint tenancy then it is not a Council Tax HMO.

agrinnall

T_Payne wrote: »

Thank you both for your reply. Any suggestions on how I can find that money fast between us?

Some examples:

Work more hours
Sell stuff
Take out a loan
Pay with a credit card

Kim_13

sheramber wrote: »

Full time students are disregarded. That does mean she is responsible for the whole bill but is entitled to 25% discount as a single occupier. She should contact the council tax department if she hasn't been given it.

This.

The property's band can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/council-tax-bands . Bills for Band A (the lowest) are around £1000 in some areas (they include police, town/district council and fire authority charges as well as the amount that goes to the local council.) £800 may turn out to be correct but it's worth establishing if it is before making any payment. The full charge for the property should be online if you have the band and check the council website.

If she was still a student for part of this tax year, then the charge for that time should be removed from the bill. If she still had exams in June for instance then she would expect approx 1/6th to be removed from the bill before a 25% discount is applied to the remainder (the bill should be itemised and show this, or the bill should state that it applies to x date (when she ceased to be a student) until 5th April.)

It sounds as though the landlord has done nothing and lost the instalment option (would be removed if no payment,) so she should contact the council and explain the situation to them. Hopefully they will use common sense and allow installments. She should not have passed something in her name to the landlord but I imagine it was quite daunting at a young age to have that drop on the mat addressed only to her. A number of young adults probably incorrectly think that a landlord is liable for council tax. If this was the case and was why she passed it to the landlord, then she should say so to try and get the instalments back.

CIS

If she was still a student for part of this tax year, then the charge for that time should be removed from the bill. If she still had exams in June for instance then she would expect approx 1/6th to be removed from the bill before a 25% discount is applied to the remainder (the bill should be itemised and show this, or the bill should state that it applies to x date (when she ceased to be a student) until 5th April.)

Council tax run charges from 01 April to 31 March.

Craig