<prompt> Human: Back in October 2012, my mum and I I was 19 at the time along with her partner and my brother 18 were made homeless through debts that both mum and the partner racked up mainly down to the partner and hiding a lot of it. My brother managed to move in with a friend, and my mums boyfriend manages to move to another part of the country, which left me and my mum.The day we were made homeless, my mum managed to talk with her sister, who agrees to take us in. 7 weeks or so past and we had to move out. This is where it was bad for me. Through panic and being massively misinformed, I suggested we look at private renting considering mum couldnt get anywhere through agencies as her credit score was bad and I didnt have a job was on and still am on JSA. We managed to find a private flat in the same region, which mum signed the lease for I never signed anything. Out of the bills, electric and gas was done through prepaid cards, but water and council tax was not. The problem is that to my knowledge she never declared either her or myself on the council tax, and to top it off, she suggested that her income be paid into my account as debt collectors wouldnt be able to touch it I think it was suggested because we wouldnt able been able to survive. Im mad at myself because I didnt think it was a big deal and thought it wouldve been okay. However, Im worried because my JSA is paid into the same account I only have one bank account, and if they saw what else went in, I would be liable to pay it back, and Im also worries that Im liable for council tax, even though Im a dependent on my mum and cant afford to pay it back at the moment. Nothing else I know is in my name, and by extension meant I never signed for anything to do with the flat.Im desperate for advice and what my options might be. I know I need to get myself out of this situation asap, but I fear I wont be able to get emergency housing or DSS because of a bad decision I made when I was 1920.Also, I want to point out that I have repeatedly asked my mum what steps she is taking to sort her debtssituation out, and Ive suggested stuff like selling her car or asking a friend or our nan if she could borrow money to declare herself bankrupt thats something she decided to do a while back, but she hasnt made any effort to get another job low income job or try and sell things to get money together to declare herself. At this point Im scared for my safety and future because I cant pay back anything if I do owe anything, and I dont have anyone I can turn to who could take me in for a while, meaning I would end up homeless.As a side note, I have been trying to look for jobs and have done courses funded by gov since moving in to better my chances of getting a job.So yeah... What can I do, Reddit? Have my decisions affected my life or can I get out of this? : if you think I missed anything off, please let me know and I will give more info.Edit: when Ive suggested stuff in the past to my mum, shes been very irrational, and pretty much shut the conversation down, and for some reason she think as soon as I get a job, she expects me to take over the lease and allow her to carry on living there illegally. She doesnt seem to understand that it could land me in a lot of stuff. To top it off, she suggested I open another banks account and try and get housing benefits paid into that. I refused and said they would absolutely check my other bank account and that it was not okaylegal to so that. Basically shes expecting me to carry this mess and and has expected me to do so for a while now. I just wish I knew my options earlier on and had information back before we moved here.Edit: also will I be in trouble for having mums wages paid into my account whilst having JSA paid in there too?  <response>: The problem is that to my knowledge she never declared either her or myself on the council taxFor two years? Id guess that something has been being paid because Id have expected to see notes with court dates similar in the meantime.She might not have put you on it though, as if theres only one person you get a 25 discount.With JSA and low salaries you should also get a reduction in the tax, possibly all of it but you must talk to the council about this. she suggested that her income be paid into my account as debt collectors wouldnt be able to touch itIm not sure if thats actually true. Edit: also will I be in trouble for having mums wages paid into my account whilst having JSA paid in there too?As I understand it, JSA can be dependent on your household income, so make sure that your details are up to date. Other than that, this sounds like something that might cause problems if they think youre earning on the side but apart from hassle should be OK. I still heavily recommend splitting your finances!Check to see if there are other things youd be eligible for:Also, go and speak to your local citizens advice bureau. At this point Im scared for my safety and future because I cant pay back anything if I do owe anythingFirst of all, breathe. Your situation is complex and admittedly not awesome but there are lots of regulations around debt collection, particularly around limiting what they can force you to repay based on income.You have to break this down into more manageable chunks, a lot of which are just finding things out. So, the key things that come to mind here are:1. Whats the status with the council tax?2. Are you eligible for other benefits?6. Speak to CAB3. Can you split your finances get her income paid into her account?4. You mention debts, what are the debts, how much, who to and are there any interestfeesetc?5. What are your incomes outgoings? While fixing things you want to not be creating more problems. 