Information for landlords and agents

What is council tax?

Council tax is a way of paying for council's services.

Who must pay council tax?

A person who owns and lives in a property (owner-occupier) or a tenant aged 18 or over living in the property is usually responsible for paying the council tax.

Help us improve our service to you and your tenants by keeping us informed of all changes in tenancy when they happen. We need you to:

• Keep original tenancy documents
• Provide a contact telephone number
• Provide right away the dates when the tenants move in and when the tenants move out
• Provide full names
• Provide forwarding addresses
• Tell us if the tenant moves from one room to another in the same property
• Tell us if someone else moves in the property with the tenant
• Tell us if the property has been altered or converted
• Apply for exemptions or discounts when they become due

What is council tax benefit?

People on low income can also get help to pay their council tax bill. This is known as council tax benefit

Who can claim council tax benefit?

Any owner-occupier or tenant aged 18 or over who is legally responsible for the council tax can claim council tax benefit.

Who cannot claim council tax benefit?

In certain circumstances, owners who do not live in the property must pay the council tax. They cannot claim council tax benefit. The most common example of this is a house in multiple occupation (HMO).

A HMO is where:

• Tenants rent rooms in the property and share facilities, for example a bathroom or kitchen (or both) and
• Each tenant has a separate tenancy agreement with only their name on it.

In a HMO the landlord or owner is responsible for paying the council tax. However, if you have tenants in the property, you can include their share of the council tax in the amount of rent you charge.

How does my tenant claim housing benefit or council tax benefit?

If you tenant applies for income support, job seekers allowance or incapacity benefit they will claim Housing or council tax benefit (or both) at the same time. In these cases, the Jobcentre plus will send the relevant information the council needs to decide on the claim for housing and council tax benefit. Your tenant will still need to provide proof of rent directly to Plymouth City Council.

If your tenant applies for pension credits, they will be asked if they if they want to claim housing or council tax benefit (or both). The Pension Service will send an application form to enable the claim to be made. This form is known as the HCTB1(PC). The completed form will need to be returned to Plymouth City Council. If it is returned to the Pension Service, they will pass the form on to the council.

Your tenants do not have to be getting income support, job seeker’s allowance (income based) or guaranteed pension credit to get housing or council tax benefit (or both). In these cases the tenant must make a claim directly to Plymouth City Council by filling in a claim form. Once the application form has been completed it must be returned to Plymouth City Council.

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