Will they make me pay council tax?

faringdon

Hi,
I have been living in a small rented room in UK for 13 months now. I told the council i was here by way of my request for
a local car parking permit when i arrived.
I have never payed council tax, but my room is "all bills included", and so i just assumed naturally
that council tax was payed by the landlord.
My rent is £580/month. The room is very small. When i prepare food, i literally have to do it on top
of the closed toilet seat in the tiny shower room as that is where the (tiny) sink is.
I have a small microwave which i stand on top of an upside down washing up bowl at the end of the bed.
Anyway, i recently applied for a job and they asked me to send them a "voter's roll letter".
So anyway, i have applied to the council for one.

Do you think the council may ask me to start paying council tax?
I dont want to ask the landlord if he pays my council tax because they will probably say no, and then
transfer the council tax bill payment to me.

I just dont have the money to pay. I work in electronics, and in UK, you often have to leave jobs
because they want you to put trash circuitry into production, and you dont want to do that because it would damage the company.
But it does mean that you can be out of work quite frequently.

So that leads to the next question, since i have been out of work for 5 of the last 13 months, would i have been exempt from council tax payment for those 5 months anyway? (incidentally I never claim any benefits when i am unemployed.)

FlorayG

It entirely depends on your accommodation.

Do you have a separate entrance to your part of the house and never have to interact with the landlord in any way? If so this is a tenancy, you have a tenants rights and responsibilities ( including council tax). But your landlord may get into trouble if he has not declared dividing his house into two separate dwellings.

If the main door of your room opens into the hallway of the house and you have to use the same entrance and exit to the property as the landlord, plus you do not have a lock on your door for which the landlord doesn't have a key then you are a lodger and NOT responsible for any council tax

p00hsticks

You say you live in 'a room' - who else lives in the house / flat with you ?

It sounds as if you may be in a HMO (House of multiple occupancy) and if you are simply renting the room then I believe the landlord is responsible for the council tax.

Unemployed people aren't automatically exempt from council tax, so you would need to pay it if you were liable even when unemployed. However, if you are on a low income or on benefits you could potentially apply for Council Tax Reduction (but in your case you shouldn;t need to as I believe it's your landlord who should be paying).

FlorayG

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82112211#Comment_82112211

That's a point I hadn't considered, I thought the landlord also lived in the house.

OP if there are several people renting rooms in that house and the landlord does not live in it then Yes , it's a HMO and the landlord is responsible for the council tax

Grumpy_chap

Based on the OP's other threads, I understand it is an HMO.

OP - can you find some safer arrangements for cooking than the precarious set up you currently arranged in the bathroom? Is there no access to a shared kitchen?

lincroft1710

That set up does not sound like a "self contained unit" for CT purposes, so should not attract a separate CT band. However it is the Valuation Office (part of HMRC) who deal with CT bandings and they would decide if your room warranted a separate band. Does the landlord provide shared kitchen facilities?

elsien

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82112246#Comment_82112246

There is. For some reason he chooses not to use it - one of his previous threads was about using water from the shower instead of actually going to the kitchen to get water.

Farringdon, what does your contract say? If it says all bills then it means all bills.

faringdon

Thanks, yes its HMO, i dont think the landlord lives here. I dont use one of the communal kitchens…they are too small and filthy and you cant move in there when other tennants and their mates are cooking in there. I hear regular cat-fights over who moved whose food from the fridge etc etc

faringdon

The AST says the following…

QUOTE»

3.3 Outgoings
3.3.1 The rent is inclusive of all utilities

«UNQUOTE

The only mention of counctil tax is as follows…..

QUOTE»

3.5 Deposit
3.5.1 Pay to the Landlord the Deposit by or on the first Due Date as security for the Landlord against any loss arising because of the Tenant's breach of any agreement or obligation in this Agreement.
3.5.2 At the end of the Tenancy, the Landlord shall be entitled to withhold from the Deposit such proportion of the Deposit as may be reasonably necessary to:

• make good any damage to the Property or the Contents (except for fair wear and tear);
• replace any of the Contents which may be missing from the Property;
• pay any accounts for utilities, Council tax charges or any other taxes or accounts for which the Tenant may be liable, which remain unpaid;

«UNQUOTE

molerat

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/debt_advice/resources_for_debt_advisers/council_tax_liability_for_houses_in_multiple_occupation_hmos

sherlock228

then it is as others have said an HMO and the ONLY person who will ever be liable for the council tax is the landlord because that is what is expressly written down in the law
The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings and Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023

Council tax liability for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) - Shelter England