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
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
Change of address
You must tell us about tenancy changes within 21 days. Council Tax must be registered in the name of the correct person. As the landlord or agent, it is important you pass this information on to us.
We have the legal right to request information that we need under Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, regulation 3. We can impose a financial penalty if you refuse to give us information or if you give us information that you know to be false.
If a tenant moves in or out of your property you can use our change of address form 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.
Tell us a tenant has moved into a property
Tell us a tenant has moved out of a property
Renters' Rights Act
From 1 May 2026, reforms to the private rented sector in England are bringing in new rights and responsibilities for landlords, letting agents and tenants.
Most new and existing tenancies in the private rented sector will become assured periodic tenancies, or "rolling tenancies". Fixed term tenancies will be banned.
This means tenants can stay in their property until:
- the tenant ends the tenancy
- you or your agent serves a valid notice to end the tenancy
- you or your agent gets a court order or possession order
The tenant can end the tenancy at any point by giving two months' notice.
You will need to understand what the changes mean for you, more information about the Renters' Rights Act can be found on our Renters' Rights Act 2025 webpage.
Contact us
If you require further help please complete our online contact form.
