AIBU? Reporting Landlord Tax Evasion.

[StickyIcky]

I had a turbulent relationship with a guy who was seeing others behind my back.. lots of emotional abuse came with it. If I confronted him on his behaviour, he would 'gaslight' me at every opportunity. Basically, it was a dizzying ride of 'idealise, Devalue, then discard'. He eventually went with someone else after the final confrontation when I found him on a dating site. He told me about a close relative renting out a house, and was quite boastful in how they evaded paying Landlord tax to HMRC. At the end of the relationship, I dobbed him into HMRC with all the information I had. The person at the other side of the phone sounded very interested, and told me they are dodging £1,000 a year at least in tax. Was I unreasonable to report this?

Yeah, of course you were unreasonable. You were doing it out of spite and you don't even know if it was true.

And how does this affect the ex?

Regardless of whether it’s anything to do with an ex, I don’t think you were U at all, and I say that as a LL myself.

IMO tax evasion by LLs is rife - it’s too easy to get away with it. If you don’t have a mortgage and don’t use a letting agent, then unless it’s an (
HMO there is nobody you have to inform that you are renting out a property.

The self assessment tax form doesn’t even ask for addresses, just how many properties you are renting out.

Among other things I’ve heard of two senior doctors telling another (a friend of a dd) that she was mad to be declaring her rental income - ‘We never have!’

A fair percentage of undeclared rental income is very likely courtesy of the taxpayer, too.

I don’t get involved in other people dodging tax or claiming benefits they are not entitled to, there is too much of it out there for me to make a difference and I think it is a matter for the authorities. As you seem to have been doing it out of revenge not social justice, I am wondering how reporting somebody’s relative hurts your ex.

YANBU tax evasion is serious issue in the rental sector. I’m a landlord.

So you reported someone you hardly know to spite your ex, who it won't effect??

Right.

your ex boasted about relative - he may well have been lying &if he was the person you reported will have to go back years & have all of his accounts checked - it will be expensive & time consuming -so I hope you are right
Any LL with half a brain wouldn't avoid declaring income because there are so many hoops & trails that owning a rental property leaves behind - if you have an ordinary mortgage or insurance for instance because they would be invalidated. Or the safety checks or the council
Would I report someone? Possibly/probably, yes, but not because I want to get back at my ex - if I were concerned I would have done this when he wasn't my ex. I would have to be sure they were not paying tax or not acting properly & safely to their tenant (& report them then to the council housing department), because if I was wrong it could cause them a lot of expense & difficulty.