tenant refusing to pay council tax

moneysavinmonkey

pinkshoes wrote: »

Why would it be unfair? Having previously rented for 10 years, if it said in my contract that I was responsible for my share of the council tax for an HMO, and I signed that contract, then I would pay. Anyone with half a brain would know that if the landlord paid the council tax, then the rent would be £50 a month higher!!

I don't know who is right and who is wrong here but I can see both sides...

pinkshoes you must realise though that although people agreed to the terms and conditions it can later be said to be an unfair contract term and not enforceable. as we know from BANK CHARGES cases

for example if an AST has a clause saying a landlord only has to give one months notice that is unfair as although the tenant may have agreed to it, it takes away statutory rights - ie it alters the rules set out in law.

If the law says that landlord pays the council tax for an HMO then a clause in the contract making the tenants responsible circumnavigates the law and could be said to be unfair. Yes of course the landlord is more than welcome to stick £50 on the rent to cover his costs for the council tax - by the sounds of it that is what he should have done in the first place!

PasturesNew

pinkshoes wrote: »

Why would it be unfair? Having previously rented for 10 years, if it said in my contract that I was responsible for my share of the council tax for an HMO, and I signed that contract, then I would pay. Anyone with half a brain would know that if the landlord paid the council tax, then the rent would be £50 a month higher!!

Just because something's in the contract, doesn't mean it's fair and items can be declared as unfair.

So what if the rent is more, if the council tax is equally less. It's all the same ££ in the end.

crisp

Benefits_Blagger wrote: »

i think that would be deemed an unfair clause. i hope the tenant sticks to their guns and if it's possible have you stopped from running an HMO as you are clearly trying to flout the law. I thought the days of the rigsby's had gone, so I'm told by all the BTL'ers.

FYI, a HMO for council tax is NOT necessarily a HMO for licensing. Does that make sense for you and your friends?

If it is in the contract and signed, it seems fine to me. I think its FAR from unreasonable. It is transparent that I am not charging more than the council tax.

Rick62

Yes, I believe it is correct that the landlord is responsible to the Council for the tax if an HMO, however if the individual agreement then says that the tenant is responsible for paying their share to the landlord then that seems perfectly reasonable and transparent. Why would anyone say that is an unfair term?

sassybooboos

is she saying it just cause her name isnt on the bill.
have you got a copy of the contract she signed, if so send a copy to the council so they add her name to bill.

loads of llords tell tenants they must pay council tax.

if all else fails tell her you wont renew her contract. then when you get the next one in up the rent charge.

MrChips

My girlfriend had a slightly similar issue. She lived in a HMO (5 people, 3 stories) and her tenancy agreement stated she should pay a contribution towards council tax (up to £5.50 per week). The landlord never asked for this money but when she moved out he took £270 from her deposit (she lived there for about a year).

We have a court date with him in about 2 weeks, to do with a few issues, but including the fact that he never actually paid any council tax to the council. We were going to argue that he shouldn't deduct this money if he is just going to keep it for himself. Could we also argue that as he is responsible for the tax, it is unreasonable to take £270 of my girlfriend's money to pay for it?

Benefits_Blagger

MrChips wrote: »

My girlfriend had a slightly similar issue. She lived in a HMO (5 people, 3 stories) and her tenancy agreement stated she should pay a contribution towards council tax (up to £5.50 per week). The landlord never asked for this money but when she moved out he took £270 from her deposit (she lived there for about a year).

We have a court date with him in about 2 weeks, to do with a few issues, but including the fact that he never actually paid any council tax to the council. We were going to argue that he shouldn't deduct this money if he is just going to keep it for himself. Could we also argue that as he is responsible for the tax, it is unreasonable to take £270 of my girlfriend's money to pay for it?

even if he did pay it to the council, she should be etitled to it back as it's the LL's bill and not hers! I hope she get her money back.

Benefits_Blagger

crisp wrote: »

FYI, a HMO for council tax is NOT necessarily a HMO for licensing. Does that make sense for you and your friends?

If it is in the contract and signed, it seems fine to me. I think its FAR from unreasonable. It is transparent that I am not charging more than the council tax.

nope, please explain ?

It seems to me that you are picking rules that suit you and ignoring the ones that don't.

MrChips

It's a long and complicated case! You can read about it here if you are curious

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=441344

neverdespairgirl

moneysavinmonkey wrote: »

pinkshoes you must realise though that although people agreed to the terms and conditions it can later be said to be an unfair contract term and not enforceable. as we know from BANK CHARGES cases

As we don't know from the bank charges issue.

AFAIK, the test case is still pending, and anyway was about penalty charges rather than unfair terms.