Council tax information for landlords
Responsibility for council tax in rented properties depends on the type of tenancy agreement you have and who is living in the property.
When is a tenant responsible?
The tenant, or tenants, are responsible for the Council Tax when you rent the whole of the property to one person or family, or to joint tenants. We send the bill to your tenant(s).
When is the landlord responsible?
If you rent out the property to several people, and they each have an individual tenancy agreement to occupy only part of the building - called a 'house in multiple occupation' (HMO) - you are responsible for paying the Council Tax. We send the bill to you.
Under Council Tax regulations, where a property is not anyone's main residence, it is the owner of the property who becomes responsible for Council Tax.
An owner is a person who satisfies the following conditions:
a) they have a material interest in the whole or any part of the dwelling; and
b) that at least part of the dwelling (or as the case may be the part concerned) is not subject to a material interest inferior to their interest.
What happens if a tenant moves out before the end of their tenancy agreement?
A tenant with a fixed-term tenancy for 6 months or more who moves out before the end of the fixed term, will become liable for unoccupied charges until their tenancy end-date. However, a tenant on a periodic or rolling tenancy cannot be held liable for any unoccupied charge due.
What is a periodic tenancy?
Once a tenant's fixed-term tenancy expires, if they stay on without a new fixed-term tenancy being drawn up then their tenancy becomes a periodic or rolling one, which means they no longer hold a material interest in the property. So although they can be charged for the period they are living in the property, they cannot be charged for any Council Tax charges if they move out and the property becomes no one's main residence, even if they haven't given the you notice in accordance with their tenancy agreement or indeed handed the keys back.
Change of address
If a tenant moves in or out of your property you can use the change of address from to tell us about the changes. You will need your tenant's name, previous or forwarding address and the names of any other people aged 18 or over who live with the tenant.
Do not tell us about a change of address more than 14 days before the tenant is due to move. You need to provide your own information in the Advisor section.
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