Council Tax?

[needtoask]

Dear All,

Could someone please advise if Council Tax payment is Compulsory?

I am living in house where my rent includes every thing (Council tax and bills included in rent), could this become any issue for BC application

thanks

[mealos]

This question has been asked before and several experienced members said "no, as long as you have your name in the council register for that property and there are unpaid taxes that ended up in penalty or court"

They might correct me if I remembered it wrongly.

[VR]

Needtoask,

Just put in the address where you are staying. Mention in the additional information page that your rent includes council tax.

You are expected to give facts. No need to manufacture stuff.
cheers
vr

[Amber]

If the council tax is being paid by the landlord then there is no issue, this would not need to be mentioned in the application.

[hass1234]

Apologies it could have been answered but what if you live with students and they are exempted from council tax but 1 of you is full time worker. Will home office check that this full time worker has not paid council tax?

[Amber]

It's unlikely that the HO will find out unless the council find out. The house would not have been 100% exempt from council tax if all residents were not students. However, it's debatable who was liable.

[VR]

Folks,

Houses in Multiple Occupancy has been around for the past two decades. The moment you put an address in the form the HO will be able to get all the details when they check.

Basically it is a shared accomodation for which a Landlord obtains a special licence and complies with special regulations (smoke alarms, door specs etc, WC specs). There is shared common areas like living room , Spam and toilets and the rooms are let out ot individuals.

It does not make any difference if 1 student and 5 full time workers live there or vice versa, any permutation combination is ok (even people on dole can live there). The Landlord collects rent for each room and is responsible for the council tax and for the general upkeep and maintenance. TV licences will be individual if these individuals prefer to get their own connections (phone,broadband and Cable) or if its a communal arrangement the landlord pays.

It is understandable for one to be anxious about an Naturalization application. But its just not worth loosing sleep over imaginary issues.
Best Rgds
VR

[Amber]

VR I think you'll find that what actually happens is that Landlords/those liable for council tax, claim that the property is exempt as all persons resident are full time students and have exemption certificates. They fail to mention to the council that a non-student is living in the property. But yes, a house in multiple occupation would make the landlord liable for council tax.

[VR]

Dear Amber,

Spot on. If you look closer you will realize the mess that is Great Britain of today. Granny Flats, Shed Conversions, Illegal room letting is all going on in a scale that you cannot imagine. The % of the problem that gets caught or reported is nothing compared to the volume thats going around.

In this instance its not the OP's worry. I am sure he would have been given a tenancy agreement in writing. If not then as you have pointed out if the Landlord is in arrears it could throw up new possibilities and delays.

Best Rgds
VR

[khattak315]

Dear All,

Has anyone got a refusal or knows someone who got a refusal because of issues with Council Tax payments? e.g. Landlord has not paid the tax? or landlord has claimed council tax exemption of property or residence has claimed a single occupancy and get benefit of the 25% reduction in council tax?

Does HO do check on council tax records for all applicants? will it not be almost impossible as for this kinds of checks, any council has to employ dedicated staff to answer/check queries from HO regarding council tax?

Thanks

[VR]

Khattak315,

If you actually live alone you can claim 25% reduction in council tax and it is the council which checks your claim and gives you the benefit. It is not the HO's remit to go around checking the correctness of Council Tax amounts.

This is true for cases where the Landlord has not paid council tax. The transaction is between the council and the Landlord and unless you are knowingly a party to a shed tenancy or any other scheme to deprive the council of their legitimate dues, you need not worry.

Regarding anyone coming forward to disclose such refusals, its unlikely. Having shot themselves in the foot , I doubt if anybody would want to shoot themselves all over again in a public forum and suffer fools.
cheers
vr

[khattak315]

Thanks VR -

Your reply is a lot clear then some other confusing posts about Council Tax which gives an impression that HO will go and check everyone’s council records etc....

So in short (correct me if I am wrong) - As far ones credit check is clean and not affected for any reason (including CT) he/she do not need to worry. HO is not going to check if a professional was living with students and was not paying the CT or husband/wife living together but claimed 25% off for any reason etc. As far as a council don't know about thing like living with students or claiming 25% off etc, and there are no unsettled dispute with council, then one should be fine.

So it’s not the council tax, it’s the credit check which counts! And as far the credit check is ok then no issues of council tax.

Thanks

[VR]

The Home office is not going to spend money trying to find out from Experian if you have a good credit rating.

They will check to see if you have not been declared bankrupt, or to decide your good character whether your council tax is in arrears, they will look at a trend .

Yes if you live in a shed conversion you will be fine as far as your home office application is concerned but will be on the wrong side of the council and when you get caught the home office will use the information to decide if you are a good character or not.
cheers
vr

[Derivaz]

The Home office is not going to spend money trying to find out from Experian if you have a good credit rating.

They will check to see if you have not been declared bankrupt, or to decide your good character whether your council tax is in arrears, they will look at a trend .

Yes if you live in a shed conversion you will be fine as far as your home office application is concerned but will be on the wrong side of the council and when you get caught the home office will use the information to decide if you are a good character or not.
cheers
vr

Hi VR (or anyone else)

In my case I live in a shared flat and I have my own tenancy agreement, which includes the CT; I signed the lease when I moved in and then I don't have to renew it, it rolls over every 2 months. My landlord says that he pays for the CT, but I have no way to check it; so if he were lying and the HO checked that address and saw that the CT hasn't been paid, what would happen?
They wouldn't bother, because it's not in my name, right?

If they did bother; they would contact me and ask, rather than refusing it, right? (in that case, I could explain that I'm not liable for the CT)

Thanks in advance

D

[VR]

Derivaz,

Spot on m8. If after Lunch you get a stomach ache you will ask your wife about the food, not the neighbour's wife!!!

The Landlord remains responsible for the Council Tax. As far as you are concerned you are covered so long as you have a tenancy agreement in black and white which is a must.

If the home office queries you, you are going to send them your Tenancy Agreement to prove your point. (This is a must have for anyone due to apply for Naturalisation).
cheers
vr

[Derivaz]

Derivaz,

Spot on m8. If after Lunch you get a stomach ache you will ask your wife about the food, not the neighbour's wife!!!

The Landlord remains responsible for the Council Tax. As far as you are concerned you are covered so long as you have a tenancy agreement in black and white which is a must.

If the home office queries you, you are going to send them your Tenancy Agreement to prove your point. (This is a must have for anyone due to apply for Naturalisation).
cheers
vr

Yeah, all this makes sense, but sometimes you hear things that the HO did that don't make much sense, so that's why I try to keep things simple and easy with them.

In reality; if the flat is a MOH flat; that in itself should imply that the landlord is responsible for the CT, so they shouldn't have to check any further, but you never know what caseworker you are going to get and what strange ideas they are going to have haha.

Cheers

D