The responsibility for paying the Council Tax for a rented property can lie with the tenant or the landlord, depending on the letting arrangement.

The tenant is responsible:

If a tenant (either an individual or a family) is renting the whole property, it is their responsibility to pay the Council Tax until the tenancy has been legally ended. The bill will be sent straight from the Council to the tenant.

If the property has more than one tenant who are joint tenants, they are jointly responsible for paying the Council Tax. The bill will be sent straight from the Council to the tenant.

The landlord is responsible:

If the property has several tenants who all have individual tenancy agreements to occupy only part of the building, then the property is a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). In this case the law says that the landlord is responsible for paying the Council Tax. The bill will be sent straight from the Council to the Landlord.

You can find out more about HMOs on our Houses in Multiple Occupation pages.

Keep us informed

If there are any changes to the tenancy at a rented property it is important that we are notified as soon as possible.

To report changes, simply click on the button below: