A man who found himself in thousands of pounds of debt after incorrectly paying a council tax bill has spoken out in the hope that it can help other people in the same situation.
Simon Wills, 49, lives in a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) in Weymouth.
As of December 2023, HMOs were to be considered as a single dwelling for the purposes of council tax.
Furthermore, the owner of the HMO, and not the residents, is now responsible for paying the council tax for the property.
These changes reversed a 2015 policy set out by the Valuation Office Agency on taxing HMOs whereby randomly selected properties were being hit with one council tax bill for every bedroom that the tenant had to pay.
However, Mr Wills claims that he never received any form of correspondence from the council to say that he did not have to pay this anymore, revealing that the only person who informed him of this was his landlord.
He said: “I got myself into a bit of debt because of my council tax as all of a sudden, I was having to pay it myself. It was actually my landlord who told me how to claim back the money that I had incorrectly paid.”
Mr Wills racked up a debt of about £4,000 which he has now managed to decrease to about £700.
He added: “It did take a bit of time to sort out, but there is help out there and I think that the government and council should put it out there more.
“It made me feel quite bad at first, I suffer from a heart condition which causes my heart rate and blood pressure to go up.”
Mr Wills would recommend that people in the same position that he was in go to their local council or citizens advice for help.
The Central Dorset Citizens Advice office has welcomed a large amount of people struggling to pay their council tax bills over recent months.
Daniel Cadisch, Chief Officer at Citizens Advice Central Dorset, said: “Council tax debt is always in the top two debts that we deal with.
“What we are seeing with the change in the HMO rules is a number of tenants who are coming in thinking that they still have to pay it. There is also confusion from landlords as well and we want to help both tenants and landlords.
“With the cost-of-living crisis, people are really struggling with their basic bills.”
Mr Cadisch further explained that people are ‘putting their food and heating bills first’ which often leaves them out of pocket by the time it comes to paying their council tax bill.
He added: “The earlier that people come forward, the faster we can offer them support.”
Cllr Simon Clifford, Dorset Council Cabinet Member for Finance and Capital Strategy said: “The Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an executive agency of HM Revenue & Customs, determines whether a property, under HMO regulations, is liable for council tax either as a whole property, or as individual units. Tenants were advised of their new liability.
“As a council, we are responsible for collecting council tax due to us under the banding valuation of a property.
“Anyone who would like clarification on the status of their council tax liability should contact the Dorset Council Tax team on revenueservices@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.”
If you are worried about your council tax bill or need any advice, contact Dorset Citizens Advice line for free on: 0800 144 88 48.
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