Council Tax by Landlord

[ammark]

I have been offered a shorthold assured tenancy agreement by a landlord on the property I chose. The landlord on the sidelines agreed to pay council tax and water bill of the property during tenancy. However, the agreement terms and conditions specify otherwise.

 

I wrote on a piece of paper the following clauses for him to sign:

 

The following terms override any terms in the original contract:

 

1- Full council tax bill would be paid by landlord. The tenants are not eligible for any discount on council tax and the payment of the full bill is the responsibility of the landlord. This includes paying the bill issued in the names of the tenants.

 

2- Water bill in full would be paid by the landlord. Tenants are not responsible for any water bill issued in their name.

 

 

My questions are:

 

1- Would this seperate sheet override the clauses in the original contract?

 

2- Can the council tax responsiblity be shifted from the tenants to the landlord in this way? (he says that he would save some taxes by putting these bills as his expensives, however he has increased some rent). Legally, who is obliged to pay in the case of non-payment?

 

3- If the landlord doesn't report that property is occupied by tenants, who is responsible for that?

 

4- Lastly, is there any council tax on a vacant property which has no tenants, but does contain furnishings e.g. fridge, washing machine, dining table etc.

 

thanks

Ammar

[Zamzara]

My questions are:

 

1- Would this seperate sheet override the clauses in the original contract?

 

2- Can the council tax responsiblity be shifted from the tenants to the landlord in this way? (he says that he would save some taxes by putting these bills as his expensives, however he has increased some rent). Legally, who is obliged to pay in the case of non-payment?

 

3- If the landlord doesn't report that property is occupied by tenants, who is responsible for that?

 

4- Lastly, is there any council tax on a vacant property which has no tenants, but does contain furnishings e.g. fridge, washing machine, dining table etc.

 

thanks

Ammar

 

1- Yes, but it is advisable to make sure that there can be no dispute over the authenticity of the changes. It might be better to reprint the whole agreement with the changes made.

 

2- The tenant will remain liable to the council, but will have an enforcable agreement to recover the money from the landlord.

 

3- not sure about this

 

4- I believe in this case the owner is liable for the council tax, but there may be an exemption which could apply.

[MrShed]

Bear in mind on point 2, non payment of council tax can be a criminal offence - ultimately the tenant is liable for this, so although you can recover money from the landlord if required, the actual offence of non payment would be your own as the tenant.