Council tax letter from a shared house I rented 4 years ago?

lincroft1710

This is very odd, the room was banded, deleted within a year, then rebanded 2 years later

lincroft1710

FreeBear said:

hussnainh8 said:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2lx0an0f6551f0n/screenshot_2022-05-04-15-01-46-37_40deb401b9ffe8e1df2f1cc5ba480b12.jpg?dl=0

Says from effect 1st April 2020..the part I don't understand is okay if they did a VOA on the house then fine however it's effective from April 2020 and I left the house by 2018 so why am I having to pay for it?

Looks like the room was band A back in 2017 - https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-council-tax-band/property/band-details/13000768000/513515194

Which means OP would be liable for the CT

saajan_12

hussnainh8 said:

It is a room I was renting with shared facilities such as toilets, kitchen etc ... Just checked the council tax band and it says it came into place from August 2020 and it's band A.. - what was the banding in 2018?
I can't recall owing her any money as I had already paid the rents due so I don't know where she took that from and she could have kept my deposit if I owed her money - there's no absolute rule that a LL must claim from a deposit. The judge might ask why they didn't, but if things came to light after they returned the deposit, they they may be able to claim now.. 
but she didn't and this was over 4 years ago now so she can't expect me to remember anything about rent now. - civil judgements can be claimed 6 years later, so you should keep documentation about the agreements, what was / wasn't paid etc until then. 

hussnainh8 said:

Not trying to be funny but what does VOA changing the council tax band in 2021 have anything to do with me when my tenancy ended in 2018 and I stopped renting the room by that time? I feel like she's just trying it to get me to pay it for her. 

The two key facts you need to establish are:
1) what the banding was in 2018 when you rented the room -> if per room, then between you and the council, YOU have to pay. If one banding for the whole property, then ignore, LL has to pay. 

2) What  your tenancy agreement says about rent / bills / council tax. Eg
- if it says £x + reimburse LL for 25% of bills / council tax for the property, then if council tax goes up, you have to pay that.
- If it says fixed £y rent and LL pays council tax, then you owe nothing more than £y a month to the LL. If you end up paying the council per (1) above then you can claim this back from the LL.
- If it says fixed £y rent and doesn't mention council tax, then you only pay if the council say you do. 

hussnainh8

Something dodgy has definitely gone on here..

I can recall she changed her letting agency to her "own" agency as when I moved in 2017 I was initially with bee lettings on a 3 month contract and after the 3 months finished, the landlord herself came into the house for a "tenant meeting" and she stated that she wasnt happy with bee lettings and that she's opened her own agency called vose nights something along them lines...she gave all the tenants new AST agreements including me however in the agreement it states council tax is included in the rent. 

Could she have changed her "agency" to avoid the tax???? I'm not sure how it all works but honestly I can't afford council tax.. I am already on universal credit so I don't know how I will be able to afford to pay £700 for council tax.

hussnainh8

The house has always been band A since it was built... My agreement states the landlord will cover the council tax...lady over the phone advised me to take all documents I have and take them to the council to show

FreeBear

hussnainh8 said: The house has always been band A since it was built...

Records show that the (whole) property was band D up until around 2017 - https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-council-tax-band/property/band-details/3581640000/503857834 - The banding would be consistent with the properties either side.

See what the council has to say about it once they have had a chance to look at your rental agreement.

lincroft1710

hussnainh8 said:

The house has always been band A since it was built... My agreement states the landlord will cover the council tax...lady over the phone advised me to take all documents I have and take them to the council to show

It doesn't really matter what your rental agreement says, in law you are responsible for the CT for the period you were the occupier. 

https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/who-is-liable

MaryNB

lincroft1710 said:

hussnainh8 said:

The house has always been band A since it was built... My agreement states the landlord will cover the council tax...lady over the phone advised me to take all documents I have and take them to the council to show

It doesn't really matter what your rental agreement says, in law you are responsible for the CT for the period you were the occupier. 

https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/who-is-liable

The OP had a tenancy agreement for a room in an HMO and shared facilities with others which would make the landlord liable. If the council gave the OP's room it's own banding while the OP was still there and sharing facilities with others it seems it was  done in error. 

saajan_12

hussnainh8 said:

Something dodgy has definitely gone on here..

I can recall she changed her letting agency to her "own" agency as when I moved in 2017 I was initially with bee lettings on a 3 month contract and after the 3 months finished, the landlord herself came into the house for a "tenant meeting" and she stated that she wasnt happy with bee lettings and that she's opened her own agency called vose nights something along them lines... - quite common, if she got more experienced at managing the letting, or the agent wasn't great (they often aren') then not unreasonable to want to manage herself. The agent would usually pass on gross rent and leave the LL to figure out their own tax matters anyway (assuming they're in the UK) so unlikely to be a tax avoidance. 
she gave all the tenants new AST agreements including me however in the agreement it states council tax is included in the rent. - please quote the exact terms. This is critical to whether you can get the LL to reimburse you if the council come after you for CT. 

Could she have changed her "agency" to avoid the tax???? I'm not sure how it all works but honestly I can't afford council tax.. I am already on universal credit so I don't know how I will be able to afford to pay £700 for council tax.

Please quote the exact terms in your AST about council tax. 

Separately, also follow up with the council to say that in 2017-18 it was a HMO, and you were renting a room only, with access to a shared kitchen/bathroom, and was NOT a self contained bedsit. Your AST will be part proof of that (the bit about renting a room, not the bit about CT). Therefore your argument is it should be banded as a HMO with CT billed to the LL. 

hussnainh8

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p661v5kriwr21kl/img_20220505_101936.jpg?dl=0

That's a copy of tenancy agreement... My agreement is exactly the same ones I figure out where I have left mine, this is the other tenants agreement which I have uploaded