To start a fire?

[PILEALLTHEPILLSONTHEFLOOR]

Just received a shock, a letter telling me my council tax will now be £300 up from £87 due to the 100% 2nd property premium.

Supposedly the charge is to fund police, fire and NHS. Perhaps I'll ring up all three every month to get my money's worth.

On a serious note, my house is already rented out at cost (no profit). The only reason I have the extra house (and extra subsequent mortgage) is because my family members died. I am not willing to pass on this cost to my tenants. I've already cut my food spending to the bone, I honestly don't know what to do.

I have no choice, the house is mine whether I like it or not

Well you will for this month as you are liable.

Hmm..

You are though

Thank you guys again for clarifying. I love this place. I have been freaking out about this all day!!!! Thank god it only applies to empty holiday homes. THANK GOD.

How can you afford to be a landlord if you can’t afford food? What if something goes wrong? what if theres a leak? You can’t just expect your tenants to wait till you get paid or save up to fix it that’s how you end up with fines. You need to sack the new tenants off and get it sold.
you know you need to properly registered etc right?

There are more changes coming into affect from 1st May so do your research now so nothing else catches you out

I will call the council first thing tomorrow and let them know the place is tenanted with council tax included in bills. Thanks again xx

But it's not currently tenanted...

Yes like needing to send them the new renters right information from 1st May. Massive fine if you don’t.

But you just said it was empty waiting for new tenants?

Sorry to hear this. But now you are a landlord you need to understand your legal obligations. Is the property safe and decent (gas safety up to date, properly ventilated etc). Do you have the proper insurance, are you saving enough money from the rental to carry out maintenance and repairs when needed, and do you have suitable skills or contacts to do so. If not, you need to rectify that. It must be safe and appropriate for your tenants, both morally and legally.

What do you mean ‘council tax included in bills?’. You are not responsible for paying any of your tenant’s council tax.

No, they pay the normal amount.

What are you on about?

I just read the renters right act in may 1st and all of the stuff that is now prohibited is something only nasty/arsehole landlords do anyway... I have never ever raised the rent on a tenant lmao

They are moving in this month

why not? You can’t afford food, yet your running at a loss? You shouldn’t be a landlord.

No idea on council tax stuff but agree with pp if you’re really struggling sell the property.

Then yes you need to pay aprils council tax.

Okay I'll go back in time and ask my DP not to kill himself in our house or magic up a buyer for my house. Thanks for the advice x

She said it’s been up for sale for 8 months so far

That’s not what I am saying though is it? You haven’t got a clue what your doing, you have no money for any repairs that need doing. You could end up with massive fines op in the thousands… get either an agency to make sure you don’t end up with massive fines, or get online and educate yourself on being a landlord. Do you even know the new HMRC tax rules for landlords?

I really hope you pay more attention to your responsibilities than this. You’ve started a thread about starting a fire, you’re telling the council the place is tenanted when it isn’t, and by the sounds of it you’ve got no ready cash to pay for maintenance or repairs. There’s more than one way to be an arsehole landlord, and it doesn’t have to be deliberate.

That doesn’t stop you raising the rent OP. Raising the rent isn’t always an arsehole thing to do, and it’s a glaringly obvious thing to do when it’s new tenants anyway, although probably too late for that now
if they’ve already signed

Oh lovey, I feel for you, I really do but renting out a property sucks.
You already owe Council Tax for April. They will reissue the bill.
I hope you had tenants until 31st March and I hope you did everything correctly or it will bite you in the arse.
If you did not protect previous tenants' deposit they can claim up to 3x back.
You have to put new tenants' deposit in a proper scheme. You have to have gas safety check. You should rent it unfurnished where you can. PAT testing for any fridge or washer (I sold mine for a fiver to my first tenants iirc).
Above all, you need Landlord's Insurance. I had burst pipes in the the first three years. Unexpected costs like that, and gutters and new doors. It can be a money pit.