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- When is the tenant liable for council tax?
- When does the landlord become liable instead?
- Who is liable in a house in multiple occupation?
- Does a flat share on one joint tenancy count as an HMO for council tax?
- What happens to liability when the tenancy changes?
- What should you do if the council has billed the wrong person?
- What happens if council tax on a let property goes unpaid?
- Related guides
- Frequently asked questions
A tenant living in the property is the liable person where no owner lives there, because a resident tenant sits above a non-resident owner in the hierarchy of liability. The landlord becomes liable when nobody lives there, and in a house in multiple occupation the owner is liable whether they live there or not.
That last limb turns on a test that is not the licensing test. The two definitions are set out side by side below.
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Liability in Scotland comes from the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and attaches to a position rather than to a promise. A rent-inclusive deal decides who funds the bill, and it does not move whose name the council can put on it.
Below is who pays in each arrangement, the two tests set side by side, what a change in the tenancy does, and what to send the council when the wrong person has been billed.
When is the tenant liable for council tax?
Whenever they live in the property and no owner lives there with them. A resident tenant is the second rung of the hierarchy, above a resident sub-tenant, any other resident and the non-resident owner.
Eight arrangements and who pays in each
The order runs from resident owner, to resident tenant, to resident sub-tenant, to any other resident, and finally to a non-resident owner. The council starts at the top and bills the first category the property produces.
| The arrangement | Who is liable | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant living in the property, owner lives elsewhere | The tenant | A resident tenant sits above a non-resident owner |
| Joint tenants on one tenancy of the whole property | All of them, jointly and severally | They occupy the same rung, so each is liable for the whole bill |
| Rent advertised as including council tax | The tenant, as resident tenant | The agreement decides who funds the bill rather than who is liable for it |
| Landlord lives in the property with a lodger | The landlord | A resident owner is the top rung and the search stops there |
| Tenant sub-lets and moves out | The resident sub-tenant | The highest resident category actually present |
| Property empty between tenancies | The owner | No resident, so the order runs down to the non-resident owner |
| Property let room by room, each tenancy covering part only | The owner | Owner liability regulations displace the order entirely |
| Property unoccupied while being repaired or marketed | The owner, subject to any exemption class for that period | No resident, so liability falls to the bottom rung |
For an ordinary private let there is no resident owner, so the search stops at the tenant. The full order and how a council works down it is set out in what makes you liable to pay council tax.
When rent is advertised as including council tax
A landlord who advertises rent as including council tax has agreed to fund it. Legal liability can still sit with you as the resident tenant, which is a different question from who promised to pay.
Keep the advert, the tenancy and anything in writing about the arrangement. Your claim against the landlord runs separately from the council’s claim against you, and the council is not the place to argue it.
When does the landlord become liable instead?
When nobody is living in the property. The owner sits at the bottom of the order and is reached when nobody above them applies.
Empty periods are not automatically free
Exemption classes exist for particular situations, and the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997 carries them. One covers a dwelling that is unoccupied and unfurnished for under six months, which resets only after three or more months of continuous occupation.
Another covers a dwelling undergoing or requiring major repair or structural alteration. Each class has its own conditions and several run only for a limited period, so ask the council which class it is applying and from what date.
Where a premium can start, and where it cannot
A premium can be applied once a property has been continuously unoccupied for more than 12 months, under the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Regulations 2013. From 1 April 2026 there is no statutory maximum, the national default is 100%, and councils may set a rate above or below it, none at all, or a discount instead.
A property actively marketed for let on appropriate terms and at an appropriate price, while unoccupied for under two years, is excluded from the premium where the evidence supports it. Keep the listing, the price history and the enquiries, and council tax on an empty property covers the rest of the picture.
The only premium figure worth relying on is the one your own council publishes. Ask for it in writing, with the date the council says the clock started.
Who is liable in a house in multiple occupation?
The owner, and the residents have no council tax liability at all. Regulations made under section 76 displace the hierarchy entirely rather than moving somebody up or down it.
The rule, and where it comes from
Section 76 of the 1992 Act allows regulations to make an owner liable in place of the ordinary order. The Council Tax (Liability of Owners) (Scotland) Regulations 1992 do that for a class of property substituted into the Schedule by SSI 2003/137.
That class covers a dwelling occupied by people who do not form a single household, where each occupier is a tenant or licensee of part only of the dwelling, or has a licence without being liable for rent on the dwelling as a whole. Where there is more than one owner, the owners are liable together.
Two definitions that do not line up
Licensing and council tax ask different questions about the same building. The licensing test counts people, and the council tax test looks at what each tenancy or licence actually covers.
| The question | House in multiple occupation licensing | Council tax |
|---|---|---|
| Which law sets the test | Section 125 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 | Section 76 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and the Council Tax (Liability of Owners) (Scotland) Regulations 1992 |
| What the test turns on | Three or more unrelated occupiers | Whether each occupier is a tenant or licensee of part only of the dwelling, or has a licence without being liable for rent on the whole of it |
| What it produces | A licensing requirement on the owner, enforced by the council | The owner is liable for the council tax instead of the residents |
| Three friends on one joint tenancy of the whole flat | Licensable as a house in multiple occupation | Not a house in multiple occupation for council tax, so the tenants are jointly and severally liable |
| Three tenants each renting one room under separate agreements | Licensable as a house in multiple occupation | The owner is liable, and the residents have no council tax liability at all |
So a property can be licensable and still not be a house in multiple occupation for council tax. The paperwork each occupier holds is what the council tax test looks at.
Find out whether a council tax bill is really yours to pay
What happens to liability when the tenancy changes?
The council applies the same order to the new facts. The evidence that fixes it is the tenancy paperwork and the move-out record.
Seven changes, and what you can send for each
A tenancy that formally runs to the end of the month, when the keys went back a fortnight earlier, leaves a period that has to be pinned to dates. The third column is what you can put in front of the council.
| What changed | Who the order points at | What you can send |
|---|---|---|
| A new tenant moves in | The resident tenant, from the date residence starts | The signed tenancy with its start date, and the check-in inventory |
| Keys go back before the tenancy end date | Turns on the dates of residence and the dates in the tenancy | The key return receipt, the check-out inventory and final meter readings |
| One of several joint tenants leaves | The remaining joint tenants stay on the same rung and remain liable together | The variation to the tenancy, and written notice with its effective date |
| The tenancy ends and the property sits empty | The non-resident owner | The notice given, its effective date, and the date the property became unfurnished |
| The owner moves into a property they had been letting | The resident owner, at the top of the order | The date residence began, and confirmation the let has ended |
| The tenant sub-lets and moves out | The resident sub-tenant | The sub-tenancy agreement and the head tenant's move-out date |
| The let changes to a room-by-room arrangement | The owner, under the owner liability regulations | Copies of each tenancy or licence showing what each one actually covers |
Send the evidence to the council rather than to the other party, because the council is the one that amends the account. Official guidance on council tax in Scotland covers billing, and each council publishes its own contact route for changes.
Getting the date on the record early
Report a change in writing on the day it happens and keep the reference number. The dates of residence and ownership are what the order of liability is applied to.
What should you do if the council has billed the wrong person?
Write to the council with the exact dates of residence and ownership, attach the paperwork, and ask for a written explanation of the basis of liability. Keep paying anything you accept is yours while the account is checked.
What the letter needs to contain
- Your council tax reference and the address in question.
- The dates you were resident, or the dates the property was let, with the tenancy attached.
- Which periods you accept and which you dispute, year by year.
- A copy of each tenancy or licence where the property is let in parts.
- Any discount or exemption you say applies, and the date it should run from.
Discounts, exemptions and the disabled band reduction carry no statutory maximum backdating period, so entitlement runs from when the conditions were met. How far back a council goes is discretionary and evidence-led.
Where the dispute goes next
Ask the council in writing what it will do with the account while it checks. Liability appeals go to the Local Taxation Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which replaced the Valuation Appeal Committee on 1 April 2023.
The deadline recorded for a liability appeal is four months. Confirm the current position with the chamber or a money adviser before relying on a date.
What happens if council tax on a let property goes unpaid?
A reminder comes first, then a final notice, and then the council applies to the sheriff court for a summary warrant, which adds a 10% statutory surcharge to the outstanding council tax.
The sequence, and what each stage costs you
A reminder notice typically follows a missed instalment by around two weeks, and paying within 7 days usually puts the account back on track. The sequence sits in the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 1992.
Where a final notice is not paid within 7 days, the right to pay by instalments is lost and the whole remaining balance for the year becomes due. Reinstating instalments after that point is at the council’s discretion rather than a right.
A summary warrant is granted without a hearing, so liability is not argued in court before it is issued. Scotland does not use a liability order, and what happens if you do not pay your council tax covers the stages in full.
What sheriff officers can and cannot do
After the warrant the council can instruct sheriff officers, who are officers of the court rather than bailiffs. They cannot force entry to a home for ordinary council tax arrears, and what powers sheriff officers have sets out the limits.
For council tax collected under a summary warrant, the council can move to an earnings arrestment without first serving a charge for payment. Fees are set by an Act of Sederunt and added to what you owe.
Council tax is excluded from the five-year short negative prescription, so how far back a council can chase arrears runs on a longer clock. Non-payment cannot lead to imprisonment in Scotland and does not appear on a credit file.
If the balance is yours and the problem is paying it
There is no statutory maximum period for spreading council tax arrears. Setting up a council tax payment arrangement covers what an offer needs, and our council tax debt advice page covers the wider options.
Frequently asked questions
Does the tenant or the landlord pay council tax in Scotland?
The tenant, where they live in the property and no owner lives there with them, because a resident tenant sits above a non-resident owner. The landlord is liable for periods when nobody lives there.
Who pays the council tax in a house in multiple occupation?
The owner, because regulations made under section 76 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 displace the hierarchy. The residents have no council tax liability at all.
Is a flat share an HMO for council tax?
Not where everybody signs a single joint tenancy of the whole property, because the council tax test turns on each occupier holding part only of the dwelling. Those tenants are jointly and severally liable even where the property is licensable as a house in multiple occupation.
Can a landlord make a tenant liable for an empty period?
No. Liability follows the position each person holds in the dwelling, so a period with no resident falls to the owner whatever the tenancy says about it.
What if my rent includes council tax?
The landlord has agreed to fund it, and legal liability can still sit with you as the resident tenant. Keep written evidence of the arrangement in case the payments stop.
Are joint tenants each liable for the whole council tax bill?
Yes. Joint tenants sit on the same rung and are jointly and severally liable, so the council can pursue any one of them for the whole amount.
Who pays council tax on an empty rental property?
The owner, as the non-resident owner, unless an exemption class applies for that period. A premium can be applied once a property has been continuously unoccupied for more than 12 months, and the rate is set by each council.
Can I be chased for council tax at an old rented address?
Yes, for the period you lived there. Council tax is excluded from the five-year short negative prescription and falls under the twenty-year one instead.
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Written as general information about Scottish debt law rather than regulated financial or legal advice, and your own circumstances may change the answer. Free, impartial help is available from Citizens Advice Scotland, StepChange, Money Advice Scotland and National Debtline.