I moved in with two professionals or so I thought last August. One of them then started a full time masters without telling us and now is refusing to pay council tax.

We have messages of her agreeing to split it 3 ways, could that help anything?

7 comments

  1. Firstly, according to your description, she didn’t lie. Her circumstances changed. That’s an important distinction and one you should respect if you want a reasonable outcome from this.

    As for the council tax, this is charged **per dwelling** not per person. Your flatmate being a full time student living in an abode with non-students does not exempt her from council tax but **may** entitle the abode as a whole to a discount – [source](https://www.studential.com/university/freshers-guide/student-council-tax-guide#:~:text=Students%20are%20exempt%20from%20paying,could%20still%20get%20a%20discount.)

    If you have a written (even text) record of your flatmate agreeing to split council tax 3 ways the solution here seems obvious to me, apply to the council to see if you can obtain a discount on the basis of her being a full time student and then split the discount 3 ways. This is a reasonable outcome that benefits all parties, follows the council tax rules and everyone saves a little money each month.

    If your flatmate refuses then if her research credentials are worth even half a damn then one of two things will happen:

    1. She will produce reputable sources that prove she and she alone is exempt. (which won’t happen as its not true)
    2. She will change her mind based on her access to new information.

    Just don’t go wading in screaming LIAR because that will get you no-where. Appeal to her *professional* side.

    —

    Edit: and because I practice what I preach please read /u/ceffyl_gwyn ‘s challenge to my comment and my subsequent correction.

  2. My argument to her would be that having one student in the house does not result in any reduction to your council tax bill, as there are still two working adults. She knew that, and that was the basis on which she agreed to share the house and bills, so she should still pay her share.

  3. Full-time students don’t pay council tax, but you should receive a 25% discount on said council tax? I’m a full time student living in a private flat. I’ve had a few working flat mates and they’ve never expected me to pay Council tax.

    Just my own experience though.

  4. It’s a bit of a shitty situation but legally I do not believe she is liable for the council tax.

    Your bill should have a list of liable persons on it, and it’s going to be you and your other professional flatmate. Your student flatmate won’t be on the bill because she’s a student, and so if she doesn’t want to pay, no you don’t have a legal right to demand it. Personally if I were her, I’d probably either pay it, or try to find a flat with only students, just so I could avoid the drama.

  5. Why should she pay something that isn’t anything to do with her? Ask her to pay your phone bill mate, see how far you get.

  6. All you can do is try and sort this out with diplomacy.

    As a student, she’s not liable, and if she refuses to pay it, she does not have to, so you rely on her goodwill.

    How long is the tenancy? Obviously you would not want to go on living with her if she is like this.

Leave a Reply
You May Also Like