Liability rules for landlords
Liability Rules for Owners
Who is a liable person?
There are over 220,000 domestic properties in Sheffield and each one attracts a Council Tax charge. It is the job of the Council Tax office to identify the person or persons responsible to pay Council Tax for each property. This person is known as the ‘liable’ person.
Can more than one person be liable?
The Council Tax rules state that there can only be one bill to cover a particular period of time. Where there is more than one person identified as being the liable person, they will all be named on the bill.
It is important to note that in these cases, each person, named on the bill, is responsible for paying the full amount due, not just their ‘share’ of it. If the bill is not paid in full, the Council can take action to recover any overdue amounts from any of the named persons to ensure the whole amount outstanding is paid in full - see if you don't pay on time for more information.
Who is liable?
Council Tax rules set out the order of who is liable for the charge.
The liable person is the person who appears first on this list.
- Someone who lives in the property and has a freehold interest,
- Someone who lives in the property and has a leasehold interest,
- Someone who lives in a property and is a statutory or secure tenant,
- Someone who lives in a property and has a licence to live in the property,
- Any other person who lives in the property,
- The owner (where no-one lives in the property).
Can I Appeal if I don’t agree with the Council’s decision?
If you disagree with this decision you must make your appeal in writing to the Appeals Officer, Corporate Finance, PO Box 1310, Sheffield, S1 1UY.
Alternatively, you can e-mail counciltax.liability@sheffield.gov.uk
What if no one lives in the property?
The Council can grant an exemption or a discount for an empty property depending on if there is any furniture in the property.
Where no one lives in a property, and the property is furnished then a discounted charge will apply from the date the last person leaves.
If no one lives in a property, and the property is unfurnished, the property is exempt for up to 6 months from the date the furniture is removed. It will then go onto the discounted charge whether furnished or not.
If furniture is put into the property during the 6 month exempt period, the exemption will cease. If no one lives there, you will still be able to claim a discount.
Both exemptions and discounts will cease if someone occupies the property.
Are there times when the owner is always liable?
In some situations the owner rather than the tenants of a property is always liable for Council Tax.
Owners of Care Homes, owners of properties occupied by religious communities, owners of properties occupied by staff in domestic service, properties occupied by serving Ministers of Religion, owners of properties used to house Asylum Seekers.
More commonly, are those properties that are classed as Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO)
What is a HMO?
There are a number of different definitions of what is a HMO, such as for Environmental Health or Housing issues, as well as Council Tax.
The definition below only applies to Council Tax.
- A property that has been built or adapted for tenants or licensees to live in, who are not living as a single household,
OR
- A property lived in by a person or persons, each of whom has a tenancy or licence to live in only part of the property or who pays rent or a fee for only part of the property.
Houses in Multiple Occupation
How does the Council decide if a property is a HMO?
The decision whether a property has been adapted or purpose built for several households is a relatively straightforward one, and can usually be made following a visit by one of the Council’s Inspection Officers.
This can be arranged by telephoning 2736823 or alternatively via e-mail to counciltax.liability@sheffield.gov.uk.
For most properties that fall under the HMO definition it is the rental arrangements that determines whether the owner or landlord or tenants are liable for Council Tax.
As a general rule a property will be classed as a HMO with the owner liable, where each tenant has his or her own tenancy agreement and only pays rent for part of the property.
The tenants will be liable where there is only one tenancy agreement, with all the tenants names included for the whole of the property, and all of the rent due.
Sometimes this decision can only be made once all relevant information is obtained from owners, agents or tenants, and there may be occasions when you are asked to provide this information.
You can help us make a quick decision by supplying this information as soon as possible after it has been requested.
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