Council tax...where do I stand?

rdizzle · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:14

Me and my flatmate have been living together for a year now and I am now going into my 5th and final year of university. He subsequently graduated last month and is off into the big bad world.

Basically my question regards council tax. Being a student I am exempt for 1 final year however my flatmate is now having to pay as he is no longer a student. Because of this, the tax on the property is reduced to 75% of the full amount.

I get the impression the my flatmate expects me to pay half of this, but as I am at university then I don't feel like I am obliged to. I also can't flaming well afford it. I am being unreasonable or is he?

Not really sure where is stand...anyone else been in the same position?

DB_SamX · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:17

It happens very often - you 2 just need to work it out between yourselves.

Scrutinize · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:18

Er, you shouldn't have to pay, afterall it was him going to work that triggered the charge not you.

Raymond Lin · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:18

Legally you owe nothing, but how much strain does it put on your friendship ?

Scrutinize · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:20

Think of it this way, if you moved out he would still have to pay it all. Do you work? do you have an income to support it?

rdizzle · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:21

Raymond Lin said:
Legally you owe nothing, but how much strain does it put on your friendship ?

You raise a good point, that remains to be seen I suppose. We are both mature enough that it won't be a problem.

At the end of the day it is quite a lot of money and I don't feel like I should have to be generous if I don't have to...

DB_SamX · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:25

Raymond Lin said:
Legally you owe nothing, but how much strain does it put on your friendship ?

But if 2 names are on the tenancy agreement, doesn't the council send the letter requesting payment addressed to each.

At uni, all of us in a house were written to regarding council tax as were all joint tenants.

(Of course, convinving them we were all full time students was another task in itself.)

rdizzle · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:26

mrk1@1 said:
Think of it this way, if you moved out he would still have to pay it all. Do you work? do you have an income to support it?

If he lived with a non-student then he would be paying 50% of it so by living with me he could be paying 25% more. I was quite surprised that he decided not to move out for this reason but it makes sense now if he thought he was only going to pay half of the discounted amount.

I have a part time job in a bar (like 15 hours a week max, sometimes none at all though) but I work because I have to in order to support myself. That's without even considering council tax...

rdizzle · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:30

DB_SamX said:
But if 2 names are on the tenancy agreement, doesn't the council send the letter requesting payment addressed to each.

At uni, all of us in a house were written to regarding council tax as were all joint tenants.

(Of course, convinving them we were all full time students was another task in itself.)

Thats correct, however as I am a student I send them proof of being at uni and that enables me to an exemption. I legally don't HAVE to pay any of the amount but whether I WANT to is another matter.

moremoney · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:31

Impressions can be and often are wrong.

Find out.

Other than that there is no right or wrong.

He would be right/wrong to ask for money you would be right/wrong to refuse.

Legally you do not have to pay, but if you don't is he then legally entitled to look for somone else to share with, and boot you out.

rdizzle · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:32

moremoney said:
Impressions can be and often are wrong.

Find out.

Other than that there is no right or wrong.

He/she would be right/wrong to ask for money you would be right/wrong to refuse.

Gee thanks mister...

MagicBoy · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:34

If he was sole occupant then it would be 75% anyway. He pays...

JBuk · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:36

Sounds harsh but it is his problem, you are still exempt and he should not expect you to pay for him

moremoney · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:41

These arguments are not quite right because as a sole tennant he gets a reduction.

So boot out your mate who won't pay the extra, which you would not incur as a sole tennant.

IE your share.

I hope that is clear enough for you son.

Lakeland · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:46

JBuk said:
Sounds harsh but it is his problem, you are still exempt and he should not expect you to pay for him

Exactly, although I wouldn't go as far as saying it's harsh!

JBuk · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:57

moremoney said:
These arguments are not quite right because as a sole tennant he gets a reduction.

So boot out your mate who won't pay the extra, which you would not incur as a sole tennant.

IE your share.

I hope that is clear enough for you son.

He does get a reduction because he is the sole person obliged to pay the tax.

Doesn't he?

JBuk · 28 Jul 2009 at 23:58

moremoney said:
Impressions can be and often are wrong.

Find out.

Other than that there is no right or wrong.

He would be right/wrong to ask for money you would be right/wrong to refuse.

Legally you do not have to pay, but if you don't is he then legally entitled to look for somone else to share with, and boot you out.

huh?

moremoney · 29 Jul 2009 at 00:03

It's very simple.
A single person gets a reduced council tax.

If you have two or more your tax increases.

The extra tax should then be paid by the other people or persons, as a minimum.
Done.

rdizzle · 29 Jul 2009 at 00:06

moremoney said:
Legally you do not have to pay, but if you don't is he then legally entitled to look for somone else to share with, and boot you out.

Not sure that is the case I'm afraid. Don't know where you get that from...

The flat is in my name. I pay the landlord the rent and my flatmate transfers his share into my account every month.

rdizzle · 29 Jul 2009 at 00:10

moremoney said:
It's very simple.
A single person gets a reduced council tax.

If you have two or more your tax increases.

The extra tax should then be paid by the other people or persons, as a minimum.
Done.

So simple you are completely wrong.

The only reason the property gets a discount of council tax is because not all inhabitants are students. For example, if there were 5 of us and say only 4 were students the council tax would be cut to 75% of the full amount.

If my flatmate was to live on his own he would pay 100% of the amount (ie no discount)

The amount of council tax you pay has little (if anything) to do with the amount of inhabitants. They use a grading system to determine how much you pay. That's why all property have "tax bands".

I don't know where you are getting this information from.