Council Tax bands and charges

Every home has to be placed in a band for Council Tax purposes.

Your band is calculated based on what your property was worth on 1 April 1991, not what it would be worth today.

Check your property banding on the gov.uk website.

Information on the charges for each Council Tax band by area: Council Tax Charges revised 2023-4 [110kb]

Empty properties

If a property is furnished but not occupied no discount will apply.

A full Council Tax discount applies for the first 28 days from when a property first becomes unfurnished and unoccupied, after this time a full charge is payable.

More information can be found on our website: Empty properties

Appealing against your Council Tax band

If you think you’re in the wrong band you can appeal by contacting the valuation office agency.

You can appeal against the Council Tax band that your property has been placed in if:

  • you believe that the banding should be changed because of an increase or reduction in the value of the property due to building work being carried out, for example, demolition or converting the property to flats
  • you start or stop using part of your dwelling to carry out a business, or the balance between domestic and business use changes
  • there are physical changes in the locality affecting the value
  • a band change has been made to your property made by the listing officer in the last six months
  • a band change has been made within the last six months to a similar property to yours by the valuation tribunal
  • within six months of becoming a new taxpayer

Reductions or increases in value resulting from the general state of the housing market do not affect the banding of your property.

Challenge your Council Tax band via the gov.uk website.

Making an appeal does not give you the legal right to withhold payment of your Council Tax. You should continue to pay as you have been billed. If your appeal is successful any over-payment will be refunded to you.

Freeman on the Land

The Freeman on the Land movement and similar groups commonly believe that they are bound only by statute laws they consent to.

Being a ‘freeman’ does not exempt any person from paying Council Tax.

The liability to pay Council Tax falls under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and later regulations. This is a statute created by a democratically elected Parliament of the United Kingdom, which has received the assent of the Crown.

Liability to pay Council Tax is set by The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992. This gives local authorities the right to demand Council Tax which is used to fund essential local services.

Council Tax is not optional and not something you consent to. If you are liable to pay Council Tax, you must make your payments.

Any reference to a person not having consented or there being a contractual relationship between the Council has no legal basis.

We will not respond to any correspondence that relies on inaccurate arguments that have no basis in statute.