Renting - Council Tax dispute

Curls2208

Just to confirm though I am definitely written down as a tenant on the contract.

After speaking with her the other day, when I leave, I think she may.....open up the inside door and have one of her kids use it when the people come to do the council tax assessment, in the time between lodgers/tennants. But I guess she'll have to rethink how she goes about things going forwards.

Really strange set up though because previous tennants/lodgers have been on electoral role and able to get separate post etc, so it feels like a huge oversight by the council that benefited my landlady and they just never thought about. It probably wasn't maliciously avoiding it, or at least thats the benefit of the doubt I'll have to give. But it still puts me over a grand out of pocket...and yes that's with the 25% off!

housebuyer143

Curls2208 said:

Just to confirm though I am definitely written down as a tenant on the contract.

After speaking with her the other day, when I leave, I think she may.....open up the inside door and have one of her kids use it when the people come to do the council tax assessment, in the time between lodgers/tennants. But I guess she'll have to rethink how she goes about things going forwards.

Really strange set up though because previous tennants/lodgers have been on electoral role and able to get separate post etc, so it feels like a huge oversight by the council that benefited my landlady and they just never thought about. It probably wasn't maliciously avoiding it, or at least thats the benefit of the doubt I'll have to give. But it still puts me over a grand out of pocket...and yes that's with the 25% off!

I dunno, for her to be that annoyed I would say that she knew she had been avoiding it. In reality assuming she is renting it above board then it doesn't impact her having it rateable. I imagine she is likely fiddling the tax for this one as well, having the rent a room allowance. 

lincroft1710

Curls2208 said:

After speaking with her the other day, when I leave, I think she may.....open up the inside door and have one of her kids use it when the people come to do the council tax assessment, in the time between lodgers/tennants. 

Makes no difference, still a separate dwelling.

FlorayG

Once it has been established as a separate dwelling it's almost impossible to get it back as part of the main house. One of my friends decided to stop renting out her annexe and to re-integrate it into the house and she was required to brick up the separate entrance so that it could ONLY be accessed via the main house before the council would remove the council tax -so your landlady (or any tenant) is stuck with it now and may even get charged for council tax owing for many years previous
I would still be negotiating on it with her if I were you, bearing in mind what you now know...careful how you broach that, though. You are clearly NOT a  lodger