Who should pay Council Tax

There is a strict hierarchy of who is responsible for paying the Council Tax on a chargeable dwelling (property). The person responsible for the Council Tax on a property will be the person who comes first on the following list:

• a resident of the property who has a freehold interest in the whole or any part of it
• a resident of the property who has a leasehold interest in the whole or part of it which is not inferior to another such resident leaseholder's interest
• a resident who is a statutory or secure tenant of the whole or any part of the property
• a resident who has a contractual license to occupy the whole or any part of the property
• a resident of the property
• the owner of the property

A 'resident' means any individual who is eighteen years old or over and has their sole or main residence in the property.

An 'owner' means a person with a 'material interest' (freehold or leasehold granted longer than six months) in the whole or any part of a property for which an inferior 'material interest' is not subject.

Joint and several liability

If there is more than one person fitting the description of the person liable, each person will be liable for the whole amount, not just a share of it. This is called joint and several liability.

For example, if you rent a property with a friend, you may each decide to pay half the Council Tax. But if one of you fails to pay, the other person is liable to pay the full amount.