Easter bank holiday
Our opening hours will be different over the Easter bank holiday weekend
Usually the person living in the property is responsible for paying Council Tax, if it is their sole or main residence and they are over 18 years of age.
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 (for example, joint owners or tenants), they will all be ‘jointly and severally liable’.
The hierarchy of liability is as follows:
If you do not pay your Council Tax bill, you could be taken to court. Find out what happens if you don’t pay.
When working out how many people live in a property, some people aren’t counted - they’re called ‘disregarded people’. If everyone who lives in the property is disregarded there’s still a Council Tax bill, but it will have a 50% discount
Check if you can apply for a discount
Each person at the property is jointly responsible for paying Council Tax.
Joint and several liability also applies to:
Some people are excluded from joint liability such as students and the severely mentally impaired.
In certain circumstances it is the owner of a property who is liable, not the people who live there such as:
For Council Tax purposes, you are considered to live at your "sole or main residence".
For married and unmarried couples, even if you each own or rent a home, you will be treated as having one main residence for which you will pay the full Council Tax. If there are no other adults living in the second property, a second home charge will be payable, because the property is furnished but is not anyone's only or main residence.
If there are no other adults living in the second property a second home charge will be payable, because the property is furnished but is not anyone's only or main residence.
Find out more about the second home charge
You may have a main residence but also own or rent another closer to where you work that you use during the week. Your main home is classed as the place where you intend to return and where you would live if not for the demands of your work. This is usually where your partner and children (if any) live.
You can appeal in writing to us.