In a High Court ruling that will bring some good news to residential landlords, Goremsandu v London Borough of Harrow held that a landlord is not liable for council tax where the property is not a house in multiple occupation (HM0) and that liability for paying the tax remains with the tenants.

This is seen as a test case for what constitutes a HMO for council tax purposes, which differs to that under section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 for licensing and planning purposes. Landlords will welcome this decision as many local authorities are aggressively pursuing them in respect of tenants who fail to pay their council tax.

Philip Rowland, solicitor at Adams & Remers comments: “This case is important as it gives landlords a clear reminder of the importance of avoiding unwittingly creating an HMO for council tax purposes.”

Philip continues: “It should also discourage local authorities from trying to stretch the definition of HMOs so as to pursue landlords they assume have ‘deep pockets’. To avoid any potential liability for council tax, landlords should put all tenants on a single letting agreement and not reserve any part of the property for the landlord’s own use or storage.”