Electoral Roll & Council Tax

Mezra

Hi all,

Would appreciate any advice with regards to the following. As an expat (non-resident in UK for tax purposes) who has been living in the Middle East for 4 years now and with future intentions of returning to the UK, I want to try and maintain as high a credit score as possible.

So after reviewing my Experian credit report I note a negative score factor for not being registered on the electoral roll. So a couple of questions:

1. Is it legal for me to register on the electoral roll at my mother's address in the UK even though I will physically only be there maybe 2-3 weeks per year? This is an address where I maintain a number of correspondences (UK Bank, Credit Card etc.)

2. If so, as my mother is a disabled pensioner living alone in this household - would my doing so create any council tax liability at her address?

Thanks in advance.

CIS

Registering for anything at an address at which you're not resident can raise questions if the council do a review of any discounts for the property.

Craig

Mezra

Thanks for the response Craig, so to clarify: being on the electoral roll at a UK address (or by having a correspondence address for banking) results in Council Tax being liable even though I am not physically in the UK for the vast majority of the year?

I'm not sure if the answer is as black or white as I'd hope, but really appreciate the advice.

Placitasgirl

As your mother is currently the sole resident at her home she will almost certainly be getting a "single person discount" on her council tax. Adding yourself to the electoral roll at her address will create the impression that she is no longer the sole adult at the address and will prompt questions about her receiving this discount for sure.

If Mum receives benefits of any kind these may also be questioned if it appears that a "non dependent" is registered at the address, and the appropriate deductions would be made from her payments.

As you say, it's not as simple as you might have hoped and will certainly raise questions and have an impact for your mum.

Nick_C

You would be breaking the law if you registered at an address that you do not normally live at.

You mother would be breaking the law if she stated on the Household Enquiry Form the you live there when you don't.

If you have gone to live abroad in the last 15 years, and were previously registered to vote in the UK, then you can register as an overseas elector in the constituency in which you were last registered. You can then vote by post or proxy. You will be on the Electoral Register, but it will be clear that you are an overseas voter and you will not be linked to a property, so this may not help your credit rating, it could actually harm it.

https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

CIS

Mezra wrote: »

Thanks for the response Craig, so to clarify: being on the electoral roll at a UK address (or by having a correspondence address for banking) results in Council Tax being liable even though I am not physically in the UK for the vast majority of the year?

I'm not sure if the answer is as black or white as I'd hope, but really appreciate the advice.

As the post above clarifies - it doesn't in itself raise a council tax liability however local authorities do cross-reference the records to check for potential fraud. This can then lead to issues if the council start to take the stance that you are resident.

Craig