Declaring partner for joint Council tax i.e. adding to them to the account

cmc01

My partner has moved in and I want to add him to the council tax. He has been here for a little while. I also will need to have the single person's reduction removed.

I would very much appreciate if anyone would share their experience with regard to what I can expect or advice of what to do etc.

Thank you.

eskbanker

At the risk of stating the obvious, you contact your council and inform them that you're no longer the only occupant, and they'll stop the single person discount - is there something specific you're hoping to find out beyond that?

cmc01

Thank you so much Esbanker for your quick response and advice.  I will do that. Would they want any other information such as when did he moving in and previous address

eskbanker

cmc01 said:

Thank you so much Esbanker for your quick response and advice.  I will do that. Would they want any other information such as when did he moving in and previous address

Cross that bridge if/when you get to it, but my understanding is that essentially all you're doing is ceasing the single occupancy discount - I'm unsure that there's any requirement to actually add him to the account as such, although he should reregister on the electoral roll.

Bookworm225

cmc01 said:

Thank you so much Esbanker for your quick response and advice.  I will do that. Would they want any other information such as when did he moving in and previous address

yes of course they want to know when he moved in, that is rather the point of you ceasing to be entitled to claim single person discount from a specific date.

If you want to understand it properly then, as i presume he is a "partner" rather than a legally married husband, the overarching determinant is:

where is his main home? 
Does he still have a property of his own elsewhere: yes or no?
(Does not matter if he owns or rents it, it counts either way)

if he does have another property then you/he have to make a legal declaration of truth as to which of the properties is his main home so that SPD is applied correctly to each or neither property (one may become a second home for example!).
"Main home" is a concept based upon a a number of tests of how he occupies each property. It is not simply where does he spend most of this time (although obvious that does carry a lot of weight in the assessment).
As you are not married it would be legally permitted for you to each have your own main home and each claim SPD on your own properties, but not if the facts are he now lives with you as the main home of both of you, claiming SPD in the case would be fraud.

hence the council obviously must have a date for when his  and your circumstances changed. Mislead at your peril!

here is an example of the sort of issues associated with deciding what is the main residence:
Sole or main residence | Who must pay council tax | Thurrock Council

Albermarle

 He has been here for a little while

So when you inform the council when he moved in, be prepared for an excess charge for the time inbetween when he moved in and them being informed. 

Sarahspangles

Are you wanting your partner’s name on the bill, in addition to your own? Not all areas are set up to do that.

Maurice8

I was on my own, with single-occupancy 25% discount. My son and his partner moved in, and it wasn't at all clear on the Council's website how or even whether I should report that. I told them initially that there was now more than one person here liable for council tax, which I thought was all they needed to know to remove the discount (the electoral roll being a different matter, and only one of the two is eligible for that).They then wanted to know how many people and their names and relationship to me, which I presume they are entitled to ask. But the whole process hadn't been very well thought out. Then, on the same day, I got three new council tax bills: one for the extra for the rest of the current year, one new one for the next tax year at the full rate, and one new one for the next tax year with a 25% discount. I'm just waiting for them to tell me that declaring extra residents liable for tax didn't amount to cancelling the discount for only having one!

flaneurs_lobster

Partner and I are named jointly on the CT account.

Partner's name is spelt wrong.

There is absolutely no mechanism to get this corrected.

fuzzzzy

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81482135#Comment_81482135

And possibly a fine if the council were not informed of a change in circumstances within a certain timeframe.