Renting a flat - what about bills and council tax?

[eek]

Bearing in mind IPSE have already linked some case law where the accommodation was disallowed I don't think this is the smartest advice.

You need to read that tribunal a bit closer and probably read the previous ones as well. It's not as clear cut as they made it out to be.

As I stated above one of the big undoings for mr Healy was the fact he didnt keep subsistence receipts and in effect he treated the house as a home. IPSE utterly ignored that part of the reason and based it on the spare rooms

[northernladuk]

You need to read that tribunal a bit closer and probably read the previous ones as well. It's not as clear cut as they made it out to be.

Maybe so but I can't believe pocketing the sublet and evading tax isn't going to help the case.

Do they allow subletting in London as well?

Anyway, it was probably a bit tongue in cheek so I've had my say.

[SouthernManc78]

Thanks everyone for the replies, outside of London I don't think I'd consider renting but as there are always a higher percentage of contract roles in London than anywhere else I'm willing to take the risk that if the role did end earlier than expected I could find something else in London until the rental term ended.

For the first few weeks/month I'll probably stay in a hotels in the area to get a feel for an area before I commit to a rental agreement anyway.

[darrylmg]

I rented for 6 months in London.
Place I stayed included some of the bills and underground parking in the overall monthly rent. Nice.

I've also done the airbnb thing. Some places were good, some were ok, some were smaller than my wardrobe with a toilet on the side. Quite difficult to book as summer came round, London seemed to fill up quick.
I've also done the hotel stays. Found a nice one that had a reduced rate for a while because they were having a refurb on the dining room.

Overall, I prefer renting and would do it again.
Hotels are small. Airbnb too hit and miss.

[oliverson]

Maybe so but I can't believe pocketing the sublet and evading tax isn't going to help the case.

Do they allow subletting in London as well?

Anyway, it was probably a bit tongue in cheek so I've had my say.

Course it was tongue in cheek!

[Hobosapien]

I've done the renting thing multiple times. I kept track of expenses for mileage (to prove I was travelling home or elsewhere each weekend), and bills (council tax, gas/leccy) and put them all through my ltd as personal expenses. As long as the 24 month or other rules (T&S for IR35) don't come into play it was straight forward enough. My accountant made sure all the necessary legal stuff was in place for year end accounts as far as what proof and receipts were necessary.

I didn't have the ltd pay any of it directly. So worse case happens I wouldn't get the tax benefit if the expense was later disallowed by HMRC.

My approach was to use the local hotels/b&bs for a few weeks at the start of a new contract to gauge both the client and the cost/quality of local accommodation. If the 6 month rental (inc bills) was sufficiently cheaper than the hotels then the financial risk is reduced as the cost benefit comes into play much earlier than the full 6 months. I weighed this up with the client's potential to can or extend me based on the feel of the project once settled in.

The risk of financial loss of being canned within the 6 months was also offset by the flexibility and quality of life in the evenings. Own food (saving on not as many takeaways/restaurants meals), own stuff and not having to lug it back and forth each weekend.

Another option may be to lodge with a permie at the client and avoid the 6 month minimum term too. Depending on size of client there may be notice boards where this type of short term lodging is on offer. Otherwise airbnb or local short term let options for a month at a time or whatever other flexible options there are these days, so somewhere between the benefits of renting or hotels.

I quickly grew tired of living out of hotels each week so for me the financial aspect wasn't the ultimate driver.

[GillsMan]

Hobo's advice above is excellent, particularly the bit about gauging the client whilst staying at a hotel for the first couple of weeks. I don't have a lot to add, but I just wanted to add something about the risk of signing a tenancy agreements vs the possibility of getting canned by your client.

As a long-term renter, I've never had any problem exiting a lease early. If you tell your landlord that you've lost your job (downplay the business owner bit, and talk like a permie), in my experience, they can't get you out quick enough. No landlord wants a tenant to stay who has lost their job, and is possibly going to accrue a load of debt.

You may find you have to pay the landlord's readvertising costs (usually £150-400), and some will hold you to staying until the property is filled - which in London will take about 5 minutes - but in general you should be able to exit your lease if you get canned and can't find another gig. Personally, I prefer staying in hotels, but a) I live in the South East anyway and b) I've never had to stay in hotels long term (aside from a three month stint in Eindhoven and that was aaaaaawful) but I totally get why leasing an apartment would be ideal compared to a hotel.

Sorry I can't answer the OP's direct question, but I hope this is useful anyway.

[Bluenose]

Hi all,

Do you just go for ones that have all bills included like electricity, gas, internet, & council tax or do you pay those bill also through the company?

I would put all bills related to the rental through company apart from daily travel expenses and food shopping.

Do first month in hotel then sign 6 month tenancy, negotiate 5 months of tenancy renewal if contract runs the full term.

[johndc31]

The Healy case is much different

1. He had no subsistence receipts. Duh!!
2. He rented a 2-3 bedroom place. Who does that? Unless you're wanting to entertain guests?

I've been in a similar situation. I ended up doing the following.

1. 1 bedroom roomshare and get the landlord to make a receipt in the company name. Ideally get a tenancy document written out in the company name with the days the company is paying for ie. 4 nights Mon-Fri
2. Claim subsistence on anything which is related to the contract that is outside your normal working patterns. Ie. Lunch (the odd evening meal here or there where you couldn't get home to eat or it was too late). Don't take the p1ss.
3. Do not claim anything that's via a supermarket receipt. Just don't do it, unless it's a meal deal whilst you're in work. Super market receipts get unwanted attention, naturally.
4. Go home at weekends and claim 45p per mile or train expense

That's it. Keep it simple.

[johndc31]

I'd also like to add that I've worked in property and residential leasing and I can tell you chasing payment for 3 months rent when the lodger has terminated due to job loss isn't worth chasing.

If you don't pay they will have to pursue court proceedings, which is a long drawn out process. Worst case scenario is a day before the court hearing you just pay the rent owed but I doubt it would get to that stage.

They will just move on and try and rent the property if they've got a brain.

Also you might was to consider Gumtree and NOT go through a agent. Try and get a gentleman's handshake in place.