Who pays Council Tax?
Normally, the person who comes first out of the following list
is responsible for paying Council Tax:
- Resident freeholder - owner occupier, with or without a
mortgage
- Resident leaseholder - someone with an official lease of
six months or more
- Resident tenant - someone with a weekly or monthly
tenancy, including Council or Housing Association Tenants
- Resident licensee - someone with the right to use the
premises but has no tenancy or lease
- Resident with no legal interest, such as a squatter
If no one fits one of these descriptions then the person or
people living at the property will be named on the bill.
For properties that are not anyone's main home, the owner will
be named on the bill.
Sometimes properties are split into bedsits or studios, which
are occupied by a number of adults who may have the same legal
interest in the property but are not one household. In such cases
we will normally designate the property as a House in Multiple
Occupation and the owner will be liable for Council Tax.
There are other situations when the owner will have to pay
rather than the resident, for example:
- Care homes, nursing homes and night shelters
- Religious communities (monasteries or convents)
- Properties which are not the owner's main home but are occupied
by their domestic staff
- Homes where a minister of religion lives and works
- Properties occupied by asylum seekers who are being are
receiving support directly from the Home Office (external
link).