Council Tax

[ca4fil]

Hi guys,

My ILR is due in July and i am little worrying now.

About one and half years ago i temporary lived on a student property for few months. As property was exempted from council tax being students living in, i assumed i don't need to pay council tax.

But somebody told me recently that you should have paid council tax then as you were not exempted as council tax is based on persons living in the property, not on the property itself.

So i start panic, and contacted my local Council to pay my previous council tax, but they haven't responded anything yet. Its been more than a month now.

Just wondering, do i need to mention all this on the form anywhere or not?

Can senior members shed some light please?

Thank you.

[Amber]

Hi guys,

My ILR is due in July and i am little worrying now.

About one and half years ago i temporary lived on a student property for few months. As property was exempted from council tax being students living in, i assumed i don't need to pay council tax.

But somebody told me recently that you should have paid council tax then as you were not exempted as council tax is based on persons living in the property, not on the property itself.

So i start panic, and contacted my local Council to pay my previous council tax, but they haven't responded anything yet. Its been more than a month now.

Just wondering, do i need to mention all this on the form anywhere or not?

Can senior members shed some light please?

Thank you.

No you do not need to worry or declare this. If all the persons in the property were students including you then it would have been exempt. It's commendable you're attempting to pay it back. You've notified the local authority and have done what you should, leave it to them to work it out. Just make a note of the date time and person you spoke to at the council for future reference.

[ca4fil]

Thank you for the quick reply.

NO, i wasn't student that time. I was working and yes first i have called council and they asked me to explain all this in email, so did i. So i have written email proof and their acknowledgement.

So you reckon, i needn't to mention anything on the form.

[Amber]

Thank you for the quick reply.

NO, i wasn't student that time. I was working and yes first i have called council and they asked me to explain all this in email, so did i. So i have written email proof and their acknowledgement.

So you reckon, i needn't to mention anything on the form.

No.

[sheraz7]

Just not be confused. If you were living in a student property where council tax has been exempted then it must not be your responsibility. Moreover, council tax is not applied on per person in property rather most usually the landlord pay which they can negotiate with the tenants while writing tenancy agreement.

[Amber]

Just not be confused. If you were living in a student property where council tax has been exempted then it must not be your responsibility. Moreover, council tax is not applied on per person in property rather most usually the landlord pay which they can negotiate with the tenants while writing tenancy agreement.

It is still his/her responsibility to inform the local authority that s(he) is not exempt. Whoever is liable for council tax (usually the tenants living in the property) has the duty to ensure that their circumstances are accurately recorded. The landlord may not be liable for the council tax legally although he may be contractually.

[sheraz7]

@D4109125
Council tax is charged on the size of property but certainly not be based on the number of persons. Owner and landlord are two different person and the actual Owner when let property then the person who take over property becomes landlord and most usually pay council tax unless he bring more tenants and start share the rent and council tax bill with them which will totally be negotiable between them. In simplest wor the person who hold the tenancy agreement must be the lead person within the contractual period. OP was living in council tax exempted property and he should not be responsible.

[Amber]

@D4109125
Council tax is charged on the size of property but certainly not be based on the number of persons. Owner and landlord are two different person and the actual Owner when let property then the person who take over property becomes landlord and most usually pay council tax unless he bring more tenants and start share the rent and council tax bill with them which will totally be negotiable between them. In simplest wor the person who hold the tenancy agreement must be the lead person within the contractual period. OP was living in council tax exempted property and he should not be responsible.

This is not correct when dealing with exemptions and discounts. If all the persons are students in the property then it may be exempt. However, if someone resides in the property who is not a student that property will not be exempt (not 100%) unless they themselves are exempt. So the persons in the property are important not just the property itself. It is the banding of the council tax that relates to the property not the people. The landlord and owner are often the same people. I think you are mistaking tenants and landlord. The OP may not be liable for the council tax however, he did the right thing informing the local authority.

[sheraz7]

I think you wrongly mixing up council tax with number of people. For example most often a student 3 bedroom house is exempted with 3 students exemption letters and they actually no care how many else living unless there is a serious complaint about overcrowding. A property size actually determine council tax and the council tax can be in the name of anyone which is changeable and the people (tenants) can negotiate it with the lead member (who actually take over the property).
Owner means the person who bought property. Landlord means who actually take over property and tenants means who has been sub-let property by the landlord (the lead member).
Best of luck.

[Amber]

I think you wrongly mixing up council tax with number of people. For example most often a student 3 bedroom house is exempted with 3 students exemption letters and they actually no care how many else living unless there is a serious complaint about overcrowding. A property size actually determine council tax and the council tax can be in the name of anyone which is changeable and the people (tenants) can negotiate it with the lead member (who actually take over the property).
Owner means the person who bought property. Landlord means who actually take over property and tenants means who has been sub-let property by the landlord (the lead member).
Best of luck.

I am afraid that is not how this system works. For council tax liability, a property will only be exempt where specific conditions are met. In this case, a property would only be exempt where all the residents were students (or exempt for another reason). Where there is someone who is not exempt residing in such a property then council tax liability will be incurred though, the students will generally be disregarded (but not the person who is not exempt). The council tax total liability is indeed the banding however, the rate you must pay is dependable on who lives in the property in so far as discounts and exemptions can apply. There is a big difference in your example where people just do not bother to tell the council that non-exempt people are residing. Legally, if those people are intentionally doing so in order to avoid paying council tax they are committing a criminal offence.

A landlord is a person who rents out the property, often the owner of the property. A tenant is a person renting the property (whether contractual or not).

[sheraz7]

Have you ever seen that council issue council tax bill to the name of each tenant living in one home? Do you know that many properties especially the studio flats have already included the bill of water and council tax in rent then???????
As long as the required council tax is being paid/exempted by anyone applicable to the relevant property there is no issue.

[Amber]

Have you ever seen that council issue council tax bill to the name of each tenant living in one home? Do you know that many properties especially the studio flats have already included the bill of water and council tax in rent then???????
As long as the required council tax is being paid/exempted by anyone applicable to the relevant property there is no issue.

Unfortunately there are obligations to report a change of circumstance. I am not saying the OP was the liable person for council tax liability. However, it is very naïve to think that just because you have council tax in an exempt persons name you do not have to bother telling the local authority that other people are residing in the property. If the full council tax is being paid, yes, the local authority will be quite happy. However, if you are claiming to be exempt and you have a property with non-exempt people residing in it, the council will not be so content!

In the OP scenario as he was not exempt (I assume full time employment) the property would be no longer be exempt. However, if he was the only non-exempt person then a 25% discount would be applied. However, it would then mean that 75% of the council tax would need to be paid. This is where you need to decide who is liable for that 75% of council tax.

[sheraz7]

Many thanks for understanding me now. Another secret, these local authorities does know who else is living from voter list too but as long as property is cleared with council tax (paid/exempted) they not bother much unless a serious complaint of overcrowding/health & safety issue etc.

[Amber]

Many thanks for understanding me now. Another secret, these local authorities does know who else is living from voter list too but as long as property is cleared with council tax (paid/exempted) they not bother much unless a serious complaint of overcrowding/health & safety issue etc.

I don't know who is telling you this? But its very unlikely that the OP registered to vote or that anyone else in such a scenario would register (or even by eligible to vote)! Believe you me, if the local authority know that a house is not exempt they will send a liability notice in no time, they need the money especially so now.

[sheraz7]

I am sure that if OP meet all other necessary requirements and if that property was really exempted then he will have no problem. And we never listen even in this forum that anyone has been refused for ILR only for the reason that he need to voluntarily pay council tax despite anyone else in property is paying/exempted council tax. Biggest example is shared rooms/shared houses applicants whose all bills are included in rent but can get ILR on same address because guideline/criteria does not requires it.

[UKBA HUNTER]

At D4109125:
I mostly a silent reader but have to say this that after reading few posts of D4109125:
I am amazed who made you guru to spread this confusion. For Council tax authority designs bands/ratio depending on property size/value/area not persons inside. If tax is exempted/paid by whosoever none of others immigration status will affect. I personally seen a lot of friends who got workpermits and ILR without informing council because rent includes all bills and UKBA never ask. I will suggest you to atleast do google search if not know before dish out post.

[Amber]

At D4109125:
I mostly a silent reader but have to say this that after reading few posts of D4109125:
I am amazed who made you guru to spread this confusion. For Council tax authority designs bands/ratio depending on property size/value/area not persons inside. If tax is exempted/paid by whosoever none of others immigration status will affect. I personally seen a lot of friends who got workpermits and ILR without informing council because rent includes all bills and UKBA never ask. I will suggest you to atleast do google search if not know before dish out post.

This will be my last post on this topic as anything else seems futile. You need to understand the rules for council tax before you comment. I never said that council tax amounts were not related to banding. What I did say was that the rules for exemption are not as straightforward as 'if other people move in, just don't bother to inform the council'. Rent would clearly not include council tax if no council tax is being paid due to exemption. Once a non exempt person moved in the exemption would cease, the only way the council would know this is if they were informed. As I said in my first post, the op did the right thing and has no problems and doesn't need to inform the ukba. Before you try and rebut my posts at least educate yourself of the rules. Establishing who is liable for the council tax may also not be so straight forward.

[sheraz7]

http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/info_s ... ouncil_tax
Who has to pay the Council Tax bill?
If your dwelling is not exempt, after the bill has been calculated, it will be issued to the person or people liable to pay the bill. They are legally responsible for paying the bill. If you share the accommodation, in certain circumstances, someone else will be liable for the bill:

If you share the dwelling with the person who owns it, the owner will be liable. Part of the cost may be passed on to you through your rent, but the local authority cannot make you pay the bill.
If you live in a ‘house in multiple occupation’ (HMO): there will be one Council Tax bill for the whole house and the owner or landlord/landlady will be liable. An HMO is where different households occupy the same building but share certain facilities such as a bathroom or Spam. A house converted into bedsits would normally be an HMO, but a self-contained flat, where the only shared area is an entrance or hall and stairs, will usually be treated as a separate dwelling for Council Tax purposes.
Students in England, Wales and Scotland cannot be held jointly liable to pay a Council Tax bill, for example where a student shares the house with other non-students as joint tenants, the local authority cannot make the student pay the bill. However a student may still be liable for a Council Tax bill if they are the only liable person or all the jointly liable people are students.

[JShah]

Hi All,
Can any one share his/her experience or knowledge about council tax issue.
Basically I was claiming Singal Person Council tax Discount(25%)(Council Tax Reduction) while I was on Tier1 G for few months. But then someone told me that it will effect my ILR as I am not eligible for public funds. So I am confuse now that should I answer yes or No to question "Are you Receiving any Public Funds" on the form SET(O). and secondly should I pay that amount back to Council or not. Any advice or suggestion will be highly appreciated.
My ILR due in OCT 2013.

Thanks
J