Hi Guys
I'm trying to help out a friend of mine, he basically lives in one room but the council argue that he lives in a self contained flat and say that as such he is liable to pay full council tax.
The layout of the building is as follows: Upon entering the property via a shared front door and hallway, to the left is a stairway giving access to the top floor which has been turned into a flat (I think there may also be an entrance from outside) first door on the left my friends kitchen, this also gives access to his bathroom. this contains a tumble drier, which has previously been used by other people living in the same building. The kitchen also houses a washing machine which was also used communally The next door along the hallway is the room in which he lives.
With my friends room to the left of you, directly in front a partition wall has been built which leads to a self contained flat currently occupied by his landlord and landlords wife. Whilst another tenant lives on the floor above.
There is no access to the downstairs flat other than the shared hallway, off which my friends kitchen and bathroom are. The layout is such that my friend can not get from either his bathroom or kitchen to the room in which he lives (and vice versa) which obviously means no privacy between bathroom, kitchen and the room in which he lives.
To sum up: would the area he is paying rent for be classed as a self contained flat or would it be considered to be a HMO?
Thank all in advance.
I'm trying to help out a friend of mine, he basically lives in one room but the council argue that he lives in a self contained flat and say that as such he is liable to pay full council tax.
The layout of the building is as follows: Upon entering the property via a shared front door and hallway, to the left is a stairway giving access to the top floor which has been turned into a flat (I think there may also be an entrance from outside) first door on the left my friends kitchen, this also gives access to his bathroom. this contains a tumble drier, which has previously been used by other people living in the same building. The kitchen also houses a washing machine which was also used communally The next door along the hallway is the room in which he lives.
With my friends room to the left of you, directly in front a partition wall has been built which leads to a self contained flat currently occupied by his landlord and landlords wife. Whilst another tenant lives on the floor above.
There is no access to the downstairs flat other than the shared hallway, off which my friends kitchen and bathroom are. The layout is such that my friend can not get from either his bathroom or kitchen to the room in which he lives (and vice versa) which obviously means no privacy between bathroom, kitchen and the room in which he lives.
To sum up: would the area he is paying rent for be classed as a self contained flat or would it be considered to be a HMO?
Thank all in advance.