Council Tax - legislation and legality frequently asked questions

Legislation and legality

The legislation that covers council tax is available on the legislation website including:

The Local Government Finance Act 1992  is statute, created by a democratically elected Parliament of the United Kingdom which has received the assent of the Crown. Along with subsequent statutory regulations, it sets out a local authority's rights to demand council tax to fund services and who is liable to pay.

Council tax is a statutory tax levied on occupiers (and some owners) of dwellings within the council's area. It is not a direct charge for the services we provide nor is it a direct charge for individual services received. The amount of council tax collected enables the Council to provide services for the benefit of the community as a whole. 

The Freeman of the Land movement and similar groups commonly believe that people are only bound by the contracts and laws they have consented to. However, contract law and alleged rights under common law are not the same as legislation relating to the administration and collection of council tax.

Your liability for council tax is not dependent on, and does not require, your consent or the existence of a contractual relationship with the council. Any such assertion to the contrary is incorrect and there is no legal basis upon which to make this argument.

Periodically we have queries from people who are convinced that using an archaic law means they don't have to pay council tax and there are many misleading articles and templates on the internet regarding the legality of council tax. Anyone looking at these for advice should exercise caution and seek proper legal advice before using them as a defence against council tax liability based on contract, consent and common law.

You do not have a choice as to whether you are liable for council tax and being a 'freeman' does not exempt anyone from paying council tax. Anyone who withholds payment will have recovery action taken against them. 

We have provided above the legislation that authorises councils to charge council tax and although we will endeavour to answer all relevant council tax enquiries, we will not respond to lengthy enquiries that focus on ancient legislation or hypothetical arguments that have no basis in statute which use our resources at the expense of other taxpayers. If you have concerns over the charging of your council tax, please seek your own proper legal advice.

Find some previous questions and requests we have received regarding the legality of council Tax.