People aged 18 or over have to pay council tax. To find out who is responsible for paying the council in your property, you can use the following hierarchy of responsibility list. The person nearest to the top of the list will be responsible for paying the council tax:
- Resident freeholder
- Resident leaseholder
- Resident tenant
- Resident licensee
- Any other resident
- The owner, where there are no occupants
A resident is someone aged 18 years or more who has their only or main home at your property. If you have two or more residents in your home that meet the same description (e.g. joint freeholders), they will be jointly liable for payment of the bill. This means that the council can require all of them or any one of them to make payment of the council tax. Married couples and those living together as husband and wife or civil partners are also jointly liable, whether or not they have an equal interest in the property.
If you are responsible for paying the council tax but haven't registered yet please register.
What to do if you believe you shouldn't be responsible for the council tax
If we have informed you that you are responsible to pay the council tax, but you believe shouldn't be paying please check the following first:
- If your tenancy agreement states that council tax is included in your rent, you can confirm if you should be responsible by using the above list. If you are the only person in the property that features on this list you will be responsible. We cannot remove you. Please speak to your Landlord or Managing Agent to discuss how payments will be made.
- If you have moved out of the property, you will need to inform us that you have changed your address.
If the above does not apply please check the criteria below:
Tenants
As a tenant you will be responsible for the council tax from the date that your tenancy agreement starts or from the date you have agreed with your landlord that you can move in.
If this is incorrect please provide the following:
- Proof of your signed tenancy agreement or signed letter from your landlord
- A cover letter to explain who should be liable
To submit the evidence please use our evidence upload form.
Landlord/Managing Agent
As the landlord, you will generally be responsible (in your capacity as the owner of a property) for any Council Tax payment due for periods when a property is vacant and you do not have a tenant that should be responsible.
If this is incorrect please provide the following:
- Proof of rent received and a signed tenancy agreement
- A cover letter to explain who should be liable
To submit the evidence please use our evidence upload form.
Owner
As an owner you will be made liable from the date of completion of you buying the property.
If this is incorrect please provide the following:
- A completion statement or a letter from your solicitor to confirm the date that the property was purchased.
- A cover letter to explain who should be liable
To submit the evidence please use our evidence upload form.
Empty properties
If the property is not occupied you will still be responsible for the council tax as there is no reduction in the amount owing for empty properties.
If the owner has died, you can find details of who is responsible for council tax on How to manage someone's council tax when they die.