Landlord not registered flats as separate, creating difficulties regarding council tax & bills

MaryNB

lr1277 said:

I am sure I read wrt to the EICR that all new tenancies and all existing tenancies need an EICR now, irrespective of other compliance documents. Suggest you read either the tenant’s guide to EICR or the landlord’s guide to EICR to get more specific information. Sorry can’t do links as I am writing this on my tablet.

Gov.uk says an EIC is sufficient after a rewire for up to 5 years. I don't think what OP has is sufficient though.

From Guide for landlords: electrical safety standards in the private rented sector
If a property is newly built or has been completely rewired, it should have an Electrical Installation Certificate known as an EIC.

Landlords can provide a copy of the EIC to tenants and, if requested, the local authority. The landlord will then not be required to carry out further checks or provide a report for 5 years after the EIC has been issued, as long as they have complied with their duty or duties under the Regulations.

SN2021

CIS said:

SN2021 said:

I moved into a 1 bed flat within the last month that used to be part of a larger bungalow with the next door flat. Both flats have their own name but share a flat number (i.e. "House name", 43 South Street). The bungalow was separated into two flats at least 4 years ago and each has its own door outside, there is no shared space. 

The property was advertised with the council tax included in the rent. It is managed by the estate agents for the landlord. It is a fixed term 12 month tenancy agreement with a break clause only at the end of the fixed term. 

The issue that I have is that the flats have not been registered with the council, land registry, royal mail etc so the landlord can pay less council tax. 

My suspicions first arose when trying to set up broadband for the property. For each of the providers (BT, Sky etc) the only property listed was the numbered bungalow (i.e. 43 South Street). One provider told me the flats would have to be registered as separate for them to install broadband. The estate agent said the neighbour had similar issues but found there is a communal connection with one broadband provider which they can use. 

The only property listed on the land registry and governments Council tax band website is the original bungalow (43 South Street). 

Though each flat has its own boiler, there only seems to be one electricity meter as my account for the meter just says the flat number (43 South Street). 

The landlord is most definitely not registering the separate flats so that they can pay less council tax then get a quick and easy rent. This was highlighted to me by the estate agent who I contacted with my concerns, they contacted the landlord and said in an email "The flats aren't registered as individual properties and that is why the council tax is included in the rent."

Because of all this, the complications it causes and the potential risks it creates for the future I would like to end the tenancy early and was wondering about what my options are. I'm also going to contact shelter and citizens advice. 

One option I've seen is the "Right to unwind" which applies within the first 90 days of a tenancy and applies when the tenancy was signed due to misleading or aggressive action. 

Are there any other options for ending the tenancy early?

Sounds about right from managing agents. If they were anywhere near competent then they'd spot the issue and advise the landlord.

In this case the property should be registered as two separate assessments for council tax purposes, if not under s3 LGFA 1992 then under Article 3 (most likely the latter). It is not a HMO for council tax purposes.

If the VOA spot it and backdate then the council tax charge would follow, and you'd receive a backdated council tax bill to pay. You'd need to then separately pursue the landlord.

The one tip I always give people is to  very, very, careful about any property that states council tax is included in the rent as it's the number one indicator that something dodgy might be going on.

Thank you very much for your reply, this really seems to confirm that I need to leave the flat as soon as possible really, I do not want to get involved in anything messier down the line. Thankfully I'm <1 month into the tenancy at the moment. Still, I wish I knew this earlier! 

Is there anyway you would recommend proceeding?

It sounds like my only real option is to negotiate surrending the tenancy and say otherwise I'll raise this with the Local Authority and VOA? 

lr1277

MaryNB said:

lr1277 said:

I am sure I read wrt to the EICR that all new tenancies and all existing tenancies need an EICR now, irrespective of other compliance documents. Suggest you read either the tenant’s guide to EICR or the landlord’s guide to EICR to get more specific information. Sorry can’t do links as I am writing this on my tablet.

Gov.uk says an EIC is sufficient after a rewire for up to 5 years. I don't think what OP has is sufficient though.

From Guide for landlords: electrical safety standards in the private rented sector
If a property is newly built or has been completely rewired, it should have an Electrical Installation Certificate known as an EIC.

Landlords can provide a copy of the EIC to tenants and, if requested, the local authority. The landlord will then not be required to carry out further checks or provide a report for 5 years after the EIC has been issued, as long as they have complied with their duty or duties under the Regulations.

Thank you for this info.

TripleH

Can the Op use the date they started renting as a defence to not pay any council tax owed before they took occupation of the property?

Acknowledging that it will be a hassle to sort everything out and prove they only rented from the xth of somemonth.

theartfullodger

Grass up landlord to council & HMRC for tax.  Wonder what else he's not bothering to get right (safety, insurance, informing mortgage lender....)

CIS

TripleH said:

Can the Op use the date they started renting as a defence to not pay any council tax owed before they took occupation of the property?

Acknowledging that it will be a hassle to sort everything out and prove they only rented from the xth of somemonth.

They'll only ever be liable for the period they held the tenancy (at the longest). In this case the OP is planning on leaving so any retrospective bill isn't likely to be large but, that's assuming they can get out of the tenancy.

The bigger problem in these cases is where someone has stuck around for a long period of time and then the council find out.

RAS

Yep, all those lovely little rural "offices" turned residential and occupied for years. As well as the dodgy flat conversions.

CIS

RAS said:

Yep, all those lovely little rural "offices" turned residential and occupied for years. As well as the dodgy flat conversions.

 So many out there trying to fly under the radar.

SN2021

CIS said:

RAS said:

Yep, all those lovely little rural "offices" turned residential and occupied for years. As well as the dodgy flat conversions.

 So many out there trying to fly under the radar.

Yeah I think the planning application stated it was an office conversion.

I have tried to arrange a meeting with the estate agent soon (who manage the property) . Is there any advice on how I should go about trying to negotiate the surrender of the tenancy?

Right things to say, what to put in writing etc. This is my first proper flat unfortunately so not very experienced 

turnitround

Just out of interest have you spoken to the other people in the next flat? How long have they been there?