Council tax in private tenancy with partner staying on/off.

Bookworm105

ruddin1 said:

Thanks @Bookworm105 -  Would it make sense to have her added as someone living with me and so she pays council tax as well to cover my bases if she does stay over that often? Would that affect where she is currently staying in terms of her parents as a non-dependent? 

it only makes sense to add her to yours if your relationship is at the stage where she wants to live together as a couple and is doing so.

the test of main residence and therefore loss of SPD, is based on a range of factors but fundamentally comes to down to self declaring when you know it to be the case (or doing so in fear of someone reporting you for breaching SPD)

what is your concern about her retaining non dependent status? I'm not sure you really understand what a non dependent is? 
Council tax assumes there are 2 people living in a property. Unless it is a formal House in Multiple Occupation (which parent's property is not) then having 3 people there instead of 2 makes no difference to council tax. She is not legally liable for the council tax on parent's property because her status is that of non dependent, ie not on the formal tenancy giving her the personal right to live there.
Non dependent status does not increase (or decrease) her ability to succeed to the tenancy if it came to that.

In basic terms non dependent status is simply a way of recording who lives there as their main home. It only really comes into play in relation to claiming benefits, either by her or by her parents. If neither do, then it is of no benefit to her personally and the money she may or may not pay her parents towards their household costs (including their CT) is not based on her being a formal non dependent 

the bottom line is non dependent status means she is not liable for CT at her parents, therefore it does not prove she is not liable for CT at your place, if that place is now her main home in reality

theartfullodger

When you asked your council what did they say please? 

NB Quite common to pay more than one council tax charge (eg some landlords)

thegreenone

Her parents will be paying full council tax whether she lives there or not, as there are two of them and that won't change even if she moves out.  If she drops in and out of yours I don't think it would be an issue for council tax, as it is not her registered home.

lincroft1710

Even if GF lives at your flat (as opposed to regularly visiting) she is not liable for CT there, but you would lose your 25% SPD. Only if her name was added to the tenancy of your flat would she become liable for CT.

ruddin1

@lincroft1710 - when applying for paying council tax the question comes  "Will you be, or are you the sole adult occupier at this property and would you like to claim a single person discount?" as a single question. There's no flexibility of saying no to SPD?

lincroft1710

ruddin1 said:

@lincroft1710 - when applying for paying council tax the question comes  "Will you be, or are you the sole adult occupier at this property and would you like to claim a single person discount?" as a single question. There's no flexibility of saying no to SPD?

At the moment you are the sole adult occupier, if your GF maintains her parents' home as her main residence, but stays with you on a regular but occasional basis, you are still the SAO, but as soon as your flat becomes her home, you are no longer an SAO

Bookworm105

ruddin1 said:

@lincroft1710 - when applying for paying council tax the question comes  "Will you be, or are you the sole adult occupier at this property and would you like to claim a single person discount?" as a single question. There's no flexibility of saying no to SPD?

don't really follow the nuance you see there, if she is in "occupation" then you are not entitled to SPD. There is no flexibility about it, either it is her home, or it isn't.
At an early stage of relationship it is reasonable that she has not "moved in" and you retain SPD. At a later stage that looks dubious and would need justifying if you were challenged by the council because, for example, someone reported you and council decided to investigate. After all, you do have to make the SPD declaration every year, so there will come a point where you must decide for yourself it no longer applies.

Occupation is NOT based on where she is, or is not, liable for tax. It is purely the question: does more than one person "live" there? Yes or No.

Occupation ("living") is a matter of fact based on a range of qualitative viewpoints, some examples are: 
- where are her things
- where is her partner
- where does she commute to work from
- where is her address for correspondence purposes (banks, driving licence, passport, other bills)
- where would her friends expect to find if they wanted to go out with her
- where is she registered to vote 
- does the level of utility bills suggest there is more than one .occupant  
- and, not least but not definitive on its own either, where does she spend most of her time

Those are the sort of questions that case law has established are reasonable when looking at what is a person's "main residence" and testing if SPD is still valid.
Here is an example from a council website
Sole or Main Residence - Gosport Borough Council