Who Is Responsible For Paying The Council Tax
The person(s) responsible for paying the Council Tax is whoever comes first in the following Categories:
- A resident with a freehold interest in all or part of the dwelling.
- A resident with a leasehold interest in all or part of the dwelling.
- A resident who is a statutory or secure tenant.
- A resident who is a licensee
- A resident who does not fall within (1) to (4)
- The owner.
Joint responsibility
Sometimes more than one person is responsible for paying the Council Tax, for example when two or more people live in the property and jointly own, rent or lease it. The only time this does not apply is when one is severely mentally impaired.
There will only be one bill for the property and it may be addressed to one of the people responsible or, to all of them if all the names are known.
Joint responsibility also applies to a husband, wife, civil partner or opposite sex partner of the person who has to pay the bill providing they all live in the same property even if they are not joint owners, leaseholders or tenants.
Bills cannot be split between joint council tax payers, for example if three people live in the property, there will only be one bill issued and not three bills for one third of the council tax.
The Council cannot get involved in any arrangements that people with joint responsibility have made between themselves for payment and, if necessary will take legal action against each one separately if the council tax is not paid. This includes anyone who has paid, or been given full benefit for, the amount they consider to be their 'share' of the bill.
Civil Partnership Act 2004
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 comes into force on 5 December 2005 and has implications for Council Tax legislation, for example providing for (same sex) civil partners to be jointly and severally liable for Council Tax in the same way as married couples.
Full Time Students
If a resident is a full time student and is in the same liability category as another resident who is not a full time student, the student is not jointly liable to pay Council Tax. If a full time student is on a higher liability category than the other residents and the other residents are not students, the student is liable for the Council Tax.
If there is only one non-student in the household, the person liable to pay Council Tax may be entitled to a discount - see student discount.
Exempt Properties
Some properties are exempt from a Council Tax charge - see exemptions for details.
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