Council Tax
Council Tax is set by local councils to help pay for local
services such as policing and refuse collection. It applies to all
domestic properties, including houses, bungalows, flats,
maisonettes, mobile homes or houseboats, whether owned or
rented. The Council sets the annual charge for Council Tax
for each band, based on criteria set by the Government and then
issues each household with an annual bill. For more details please
take a look at this leaflet:
Download a copy of Our "Your Council Tax
2012/13" leaflet.
The amount of Council Tax you pay depends on
where you live within the borough, the value of your property and
your personal circumstances.
You can also check your current balance up using the Account
Balance Lookup below:
Your Council Tax bill is normally payable in
ten monthly instalments with the first due on 1 April and the last
due on 1 January.
You must pay your Council Tax instalments on
or before the due dates shown on your bill, if you don’t we will
take further recovery action. Please remember if you receive
any notice from us regarding the non-payment of your Council Tax do
not ignore it as this may mean further action will be taken which
will incur additional costs.
Who is responsible for paying the bill?
There’s one Council Tax bill for each home. Usually it’s the
owner-occupier, or the tenant living in the property, who has to
pay the bill. If the property is empty, it’s the owner. Men and
women who live together as husband and wife are both responsible
for paying the bill, even if it’s only addressed to just one of
them. Technically, the person who has to pay the Council Tax is
called the ‘liable person’. The person at the top or nearest to the
top of the following list is the liable person:
- lives in the property and owns it
- lives in the property and has a lease (this includes ‘assured
tenants’ under the Housing Act 1988)
- lives in the property and is a ‘statutory’ or ‘secure’
tenant
- lives in the property and isn’t a tenant but has permission to
live there
- lives in the property (for example a squatter)
- owns the property but doesn’t live there
Note: You can’t be a ‘liable person’ if you’re under age 18.
If you’re still unsure about who is responsible for paying the
bill contact us for
further advice.
Are there times when the owner is always
liable?
In some situations the owner rather than the
tenants of a property is always liable for Council Tax. Owners of
Care Homes, owners of properties occupied by religious communities,
owners of properties occupied by staff in domestic service,
properties occupied by serving Ministers of Religion, owners of
properties used to house Asylum Seekers. More commonly, are those
properties that are classed as Houses in Multiple Occupation
(HMO).
What is a HMO?
A dwelling occupied by more than one household
where residents pay rent separately.
If you are unsure whether you live in a HMO
please contact us.
Joint Responsibility
Sometimes more than one person is responsible
for paying Council Tax, for example when two or more people live in
the property and jointly own, rent or lease it. Married
couples and those living together as such are also jointly and
severally liable, whether or not they have an equal interest in the
property.
Full Time Students
If you’re considered a full-time student or not ‘counted’
because you’re in education or training, you can only be held
responsible if you - and only you - are in a category that’s
higher up the liable hierarchy list (above) than all
other members of your household (for example, you’re an
owner-occupier and everyone else is a tenant).
If you have any queries about Council Tax or are
having trouble paying your Council Tax
please contact our Revenues
Service.
Ashford Gateway Plus Church Road, Ashford, Kent, TN23
1AS
This webpage was updated on
3/16/2012