The liable person is the person whose name appears on the Council Tax bill. In most cases this is the person occupying the property. There can be one liable person or multiple, depending on the circumstances.
The following list (referred to as the ‘hierarchy of liability’) is used to work out who is liable. The person appearing nearest the top of this list is the liable person. If more than one person appears at the same level (e.g. joint owners or tenants), they will all be ‘jointly and severally liable’ (explained below).
The hierarchy of liability is as follows:
When checking who is liable, start from the top of the list. If no one occupying the property meets that description, move down to the next level, and so on until someone meets the description. The person(s) who meet this description will be liable. If no one is occupying the property, the owner of the property will be liable.
Where two or more people fall into the same category in the hierarchy, they are jointly and severally liable. This means they do not each pay their share of the bill, but that they are jointly responsible for ensuring the bill is paid. If the bill is unpaid, we can pursue any or any number of the liable persons for payment.
If a liable person has a spouse who lives at the property, that person will be jointly and severally liable regardless of if they are at the same level in the hierarchy.
If someone is disregarded for the purposes of being a student or severely mentally impaired, they will be removed from the Council Tax liability. Evidence must be provided. Find further information on discounts and disregards.
In certain circumstances, the owner(s) of the property will be liable regardless of who lives there. This includes:
A House in Multiple Occupation for Council Tax purposes is a property which:
- a tenant or licensee able to occupy part only of the dwelling
- a licensee who is not liable to pay rent or a licence fee on the whole of the dwelling
For example, if tenants pay their rent to the landlord separately for their own room/part of the property and they share communal areas like the kitchen and bathroom, this would likely be considered an HMO.
If your property is an HMO, you do not need to inform us when tenants move in and out of the property. You only need to tell us about a change if the whole property becomes unoccupied or if you rent out the whole property under one agreement.
In order to determine whether a property should be considered as an HMO, we may require further information and may need to inspect the property. Should we request information from you, please supply it as soon as possible to help us make a quick decision.
If your tenant has a tenancy agreement that states their Council Tax payments are included in their rent, we will still make the tenant liable for Council Tax as the occupiers of the property. This is a requirement in council tax legislation and is not overridden by an agreement between landlord and tenant that the landlord will pay the council tax. You are able to make payments against the tenants Council Tax account with their prior permission, but the liability will be in the name of the tenants.
Any agreement between tenant and landlord regarding payment of Council Tax is a third-party agreement and does not override Council Tax legislation. If the tenancy agreement is for the whole property, the tenant is liable for the Council Tax, regardless of any agreement with the landlord. The landlord can however make payment for the Council Tax on the tenants’ behalf, though the bill must remain in the name of the tenant.
If two or more people are at the same level in the hierarchy, they are jointly and severally liable for the charge. It is therefore your joint responsibility to ensure the bill is paid. If the bill remains unpaid, the council may seek to recover the Council Tax from any or any number of the liable persons.
Please select the Council Tax General Form and complete a moving house form . All forms you may require to amend your liability can be found by selecting the Council Tax General Form. You may also submit a query should you not be able to find the information you are looking for on our website.
Revenues Team
If you have an enquiry about council tax, send a message to the Revenues Team.
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