Who is liable for Council Tax: L or T?

[123456789]

Hi.

Was hoping I can get some advice.

I signed up on a shorthold agreement and in that it states that if I pay £x extra on top of the rent it will cover the Council Tax and Water Rates.

As the property (basement) is a self contained studio (which should have been declared a seperate flat as it isn't shared in any way with the house above, but for some reason wasn't by the landlord) the council have now come along a few months after me moving in and declated it a serperate property and now making it liable for Council Tax.

As I'm the registered person living there, they've passed the bill to me. I tried showing them that I had already agreed to paying the Council Tax to the landlord but they said because I'm living there in this newly declared property, I must pay for it.

Shouldn't the landlord have declared the property?

He clearly knows he should've done so (declaring the property as a seperate flat) and has been skirting the Law here and now won't budge.

What course of action is there I can take here?

Would appreciate any help. Thanks!

[jeffrey]

Either way, someone has to pay it! It's a 'zero-sum' question. If the Council demand it from you, they're not demanding it from L.

[kikuyu]

Hi.

Was hoping I can get some advice.

I signed up on a shorthold agreement and in that it states that if I pay £x extra on top of the rent it will cover the Council Tax and Water Rates.

As the property (basement) is a self contained studio (which should have been declared a seperate flat as it isn't shared in any way with the house above, but for some reason wasn't by the landlord) the council have now come along a few months after me moving in and declated it a serperate property and now making it liable for Council Tax.

As I'm the registered person living there, they've passed the bill to me. I tried showing them that I had already agreed to paying the Council Tax to the landlord but they said because I'm living there in this newly declared property, I must pay for it.

Shouldn't the landlord have declared the property?

He clearly knows he should've done so (declaring the property as a seperate flat) and has been skirting the Law here and now won't budge.

What course of action is there I can take here?

Would appreciate any help. Thanks!


Afraid that as it is a self-contained flat then you are liable to pay the council tax.

You were presumably only contributing your share of the council tax when the whole property was assessed as a single hereditament. As a separate assessment has now been raised then the landlord cannot be held liable.

However, since you will now be paying the council tax, make sure that your current rent is reduced by the amount you were contributing as your share of the CT. At least that is a positive.

How much time is left on your current tenancy agreement? You should terminate your present tenancy at the appropriate time and if you still wnt to occupy the flat then re-negotiate a reduced ret to account for part of the CT.

Remember that the sum of the two or more flats separately assessed is greater than that of the whole. You are therefore unlikely to get a reduction of your current rent equivalent to the CT now payable.

[Rodent1]

......and if a single occupier be sure to apply for 25% discount.