Information for landlords
Notify us if your tenants are changing
You will need to notify us of any changes in tenants in a property you are responsible for.
Please also include the name, address and telephone number of the owner of the property (or the lettings agent), so that we can send them a bill for any period in between tenancies.
How your Council Tax will be charged once your tenants move out
Council Tax is charged on a daily basis. Council Tax legislation states that the person who is liable for the charge at the end of each day, will be liable for the whole of that day. A tenant is therefore not required to pay the Council Tax on the last day of the tenancy, as the landlord or owner will be liable, unless a new tenant moves in on the same day.
No discount will be given for empty properties and the full charge will be due from the date that the property is unoccupied. If the property is an unoccupied boat or caravan, a 50% discount is given.
Section 2 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992
1. Liability to pay council tax shall be determined on a daily basis.
2. For the purposes of determining for any day -
a) Whether any property is a chargeable dwelling
b) Which valuation band is shown in the billing authority’s valuation list as applicable to any chargeable dwelling
c) The person liable to pay council tax in respect of any such dwelling
d) Whether any amount of council tax is subject to a discount and (if so) the amount of the discount,
it shall be assumed that any state of affairs subsisting at the end of the day had subsisted throughout the day.
Letting out your property to students
It is the responsibility of the tenants moving into the property to notify us if they are students.
Please check if you are eligible for discount for more information.
Houses in multiple occupation (HMO)
Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) remain the liability of the owner or landlord, even if there are people living there.
If a property meets the below criteria, then the owner or landlord will be liable for Council Tax.
- the property was originally constructed or subsequently adapted for occupation by more than 1 household, OR
- each person who lives in it is either:
- a tenant or licensee able to occupy only part of the dwelling , OR
- a licensee liable to pay rent or a licence fee on only part of the dwelling.
This can include bedsits, hostels, nurses' homes, and long stay wards which are classed as dwellings. These can include dwellings occupied by 1 person if the conditions above are met.
When deciding if a property is an HMO, we will look beyond any tenancy agreement to see what is happening at the property, and what access is available to the tenants/licensees.