Council tax
Who pays the council tax when you rent?
Usually you do — but not always, and the exception is worth knowing before you compare two rooms at what look like the same price. Liability follows a statutory order of precedence rather than whatever the tenancy agreement happens to say.
Found a place to rent? Check it free before you sign: energy rating, flood risk, crime nearby and sale history. No sign-up.
Check a property freeWhich situation are you in?
- You rent the whole property on one tenancy
- You are liable. A resident tenant sits above the owner in the statutory order, so the bill is yours unless the agreement says it is included in the rent.
- You rent a room in a house in multiple occupation
- The landlord is liable, not you. Where people rent rooms on separate agreements and share a kitchen or bathroom, the owner is billed for the whole property — which is why an all-inclusive room rent is often better value than it first looks.
- You share the whole house on one joint tenancy
- All of you are liable together. This is not an HMO for council tax purposes, even though you are sharing, because you hold a single tenancy of the whole property.
- Nobody is living there
- The owner is liable for an empty property. Councils decide any discount for an empty home between tenancies, and can charge a premium once a home has been empty for a year.
“Joint and several” is the bit that catches people
On a joint tenancy, every tenant is liable for the whole bill, not for a share of it. If a housemate moves out owing three months of council tax, the council can pursue whoever is left for the entire amount. Sorting it out between you is your problem, not theirs.
It is the same principle as joint liability for rent, and it is the strongest argument for keeping a record of who has paid what in a shared house.
If the rent is “all bills included”
That is a contract between you and the landlord. It does not change who the council bills. If you are the liable person and the landlord stops paying, the council comes to you — and you would then be chasing the landlord separately for money you had already handed over in rent.
Worth checking whose name the account is actually in, rather than assuming.
Leaving before the tenancy ends
Moving out early does not end liability. If you rent the whole home, you stay liable while the tenancy runs, including the notice period, even after you have left. Ending the tenancy properly, with notice or a written agreement to end it early, is what stops the bill. See council tax when moving house.
Next
- What council tax band is this property? — how to find the band free, and the discounts worth claiming.
- Does the property need a licence? — the same shared-house question, from the licensing side.
Check the property
Run a free check on the property before you commit.