I have very high demand for my HMO. The first tenant to move in - a working professional - has daily complaints, she has made access very difficult even for emergency issues, she wants to leave and we are more than happy for her to leave as she seems to have upset the other occupants and the neighbours. She is due to pay Council tax but claims to not understand how to tick my account as being a business account V a Personal Account so the Council tax is 2 weeks overdue. with a 12 month AST she needs to pay my costs to replace and allow viewings. She is arguing every viewing. We are attempting to negotiate with her but each day she escalates issues. I have parking, the neighbours have tried to erect barriers and signs to prevent her parking despite the fact I’ve had people parking for years with zero issues. She now claims she got a parking ticket which seems impossible, our email yesterday was for her to park inside my private gated and locked parking space… it is not clear if she parked inside or not. I own the land behind my property so a parking ticket cannot have been issued for parking on my land. So many issues, getting her to allow viewings, vacate, cover her legally binding costs, Council tax, Parking is not specified in her contract btw. Comments please? This is 2 weeks of her moving in and I have people lining upfor the room. I am very happy with OpenRent. I do have insurance to cover legal issues. I’m wondering if by tomorrow I get the Legal Team to handle this tenant? THKS in advance
I’ve never let an HMO so unable to help you specifically. However, I’m curious what emergency issues the property faced in the space of two weeks of her moving in.
She Demanded to move in on the date that she wanted not the date that was best for Me. The day she moved in, despite paying Mr B’ham Fixit Job to replace a pipe in the sink in her room which had already leaked massively to the lounge below… The leak occurred again after we had fixed the ceiling! it was the shower trap, we had to get in the day she moved and she refused, demanded to be moved to another room which was cleaned and ready to let … etc etc etc… Then she started dictating tenancy laws to landlords with a combined 40 years of being landlords… which she was incorrect on. I got it fixed, round 2! in 24 hours and we explained we need a key for emergency access, she again refused and demanded all of the room keys for the other tenants! and managed to get her emergency key then refused to return it… you get my drift of how this started… that was day 1…
demanding to move in when not convenient to you was the clue not to accept her. Single older female?
You said she wants to leave. Make it worth her while to move out quickly. She is detrimental to the success of your HMO so I’d consider paying her off to leave quickly.
Confused why she has to pay council tax. As a HMO, you are liable for this, and it should be included in rent, not charged separately.
THKS… but lol, she she is detremental to everyones mental well being one tenant is already complaining. But no the landlord is not responsible for Council tax for working tenants in an HMO.
Correct thks Colin… mistake well noted and being ultra careful with the next 5 tenants.
I would not be paying her off
My mistake. The Landlord is liable for council tax in a HMO, but I hadn’t realised that the Council Tax was allowed to be re-charged in this way. I’ve always included it in the rent.
Susan, Im confused. I assume that as you are talking about just one tenant leaving, your tenants have individual room only tenancies? If thats the case then the landlord is liable for the Council Tax whether theyre working tenants or not and you cant collect it from the tenants other than through increased rent. You also retain control of the common parts of the building and would only need her consent to access her room, but perhaps thats what you meant.
The landlord is responsible, but you can recharge the apportionment of Council Tax to each tenant.
I would agree the move out date and send a statement of rent and C.Tax due up to the move out date, I wouldn’t charge for any extras, such as failed viewings. Better to get her out and move on.
You can only re-charge it to the tenant as extra rent. Any attempt by a landlord to charge it as council tax is a breach of the Tenant Fees Act.
That’s what i thought too David, but this thread made me check & the Gov website shows this, suggesting it might be ok;
From 1 June 2019, the only payments that landlords or letting agents can charge to tenants in relation to new contracts are:
rent
a refundable tenancy deposit capped at no more than 5 weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is less than £50,000, or 6 weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is £50,000 or above
a refundable holding deposit (to reserve a property) capped at no more than 1 week’s rent
payments associated with early termination of the tenancy, when requested by the tenant
payments capped at ÂŁ50 (or reasonably incurred costs, if higher) for the variation, assignment or novation of a tenancy
payments in respect of utilities, communication services, TV licence and Council Tax
a default fee for late payment of rent and replacement of a lost key/security device giving access to the housing, where required under a tenancy agreemen
The landlord remains liable for the Council Tax and is the council tax bill payer. You can charge the equivalent proportion per room and provide a breakdown as part of your total rent.
There seems to be confusion over who is liable, the Council Tax liability and responsibility remains with the HMO Landlord.
Guys… This is the OpenRent Council tax Clause which as I said above is in line with the Law. " Unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Landlord, to pay the Council Tax in respect of the Premises for the duration of the Tenancy regardless of legal liability for the Council Tax. If the Council Tax billing authority bills the Landlord for Council Tax for the Premises and other property together, the Tenant agrees to pay a proportionate share of the Council Tax. If the Tenant qualifies for a discount or an exemption from Council Tax it is the responsibility of the Tenant to apply for this. " The obvious option is to put it in the tenant’s name like any other AST would do.
The landlord cannot collect Council Tax from the tenant. They can make them pay it direct to the “billing authority”, but it is a breach of the legislation if they pay it to the landlord or agent.
Tenant Fees Act schedule 1 s8(1).
Never trust Govt guidance. Its often misleading.
I would also recommend Openrent to clarify their paragraph.
This is not correct Middlesbro council has noted a student graduated, billed him for council tax, he did not open his post, got a summons and CCJ on him… in an HMO
OpenRent has a clause stating clearly the liablities in their well drafted AST’s
and from NRLA
HMO properties
For HMO properties in England, liability works differently. The owner of the property is always liable for the council tax if the property is let on a per room basis and the property had one council tax bill.
Due to recent changes which mean almost all HMO should have a single council tax bill, this means that the council tax for room only tenancies will usually be paid by the landlord.
Where the HMO meets the self-contained house or flat test and is let on a joint basis, then Government guidance to local authorities suggests that all owners of HMO properties are liable for council tax as of 1st December 2023. However, it appears that is not the case and joint tenants may be held responsible for the council tax where they have a tenancy for the entire property.
Given the above guidance, it is likely that councils will seek to bill the landlord for council tax. If that is the case then you can point them to Section 2A of the Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations. This makes the person, or persons, with an inferior interest in the whole HMO liable for the council tax (ie the tenants).
See the “Tenants Fees Act” below:
It clearly states:
From 1 June 2019, the only payments that landlords or letting agents can charge to tenants in relation to new contracts are:
- rent
- a refundable tenancy deposit capped at no more than 5 weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is less than £50,000, or 6 weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is £50,000 or above
- a refundable holding deposit (to reserve a property) capped at no more than 1 week’s rent
- payments associated with early termination of the tenancy, when requested by the tenant
- payments capped at ÂŁ50 (or reasonably incurred costs, if higher) for the variation, assignment or novation of a tenancy
- payments in respect of utilities, communication services, TV licence and Council Tax
- a default fee for late payment of rent and replacement of a lost key/security device giving access to the housing, where required under a tenancy agreement
Susan25, what is it that you wrote above that you think contradicts what I wrote? In your post you imply that Middlesborough Council bill the tenant for the CT. They can. They are a billing authority. A landlord is not. Neither is their agent.
None of what you wrote about HMOs is relevant to what I said.
So to reiterate, council tax is a permitted payment under the tenant fees act, but unlike utilities, which can be paid direct to a landlord, CT cannot. Only to the billing authority. If a landlord is legally liable to pay the Council Tax, such as for room only tenancies, the only thing they can do to recover it is to increase the rent.
Personally, I’d interpret the Tenant Fees Act 1 S8(1) to mean that Landlords are able to charge to a tenant costs they have paid in respect of charges made by the billing authority for council tax. ie such a reimbursement would be a permitted payment.
Therefore, I’d assume that they can charge this on top of rent as @Susan25 is doing.
But, I may well be wrong. I’m no legal expert, and as I charge HMO rent to include council tax, this isn’t an issue I’ve ever had to consider before. @David122 may well be right, as he normally appears very knowledgeable & competent on legal issues.
I would certainly recommend @Susan25 considers seeking legal clarification on it though, as if she is taking non permitted payments, then that could cause future issues.