Northumberland County Council - Council tax

Top Tasks

Popular tasks right now

Council Tax Enquiry

Pay your council tax by direct debit

Please advise us as soon as possible if you have changed your address.

If you are moving house, or are new to the area, please notify us by:

Phone: 0345 600 6400 (Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 5pm or Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm) (charged at your local rate).
Post: download and complete the council tax change of address form, and send it to:

Council Tax Section
Northumberland County Council
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9XL

If you are moving to another property within Northumberland, view the charge for each property band within each parish here or telephone the contact centre on 0345 600 6400.

If you are moving out of Northumberland and are unsure which authority you need to contact, you can find further information on the GOV.UK website.

Pay your council tax by direct debit

Change of direct debit details

To change your existing direct debit details, or to set up a new direct debit, you can:
complete the online form here or for more information, please click here.

You can notify the council tax team of a deceased person either by:

using this online service request facility
phone: 0345 600 6400 (Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 5pm and Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm) (charged at your local rate).

Please provide the following details:

name of the deceased
date of death of the deceased
name and address of the next of kin
ownership/tenancy details of the property of the deceased person

The council also operates a 'tell us once service'. For further details, please click here.

Enquire about council tax

If your circumstances change, you may be entitled to one of the council tax discounts or exemptions.

Please see here for more information.

If you are undertaking works to build a property or self contained unit that will be subject to council tax it is likely that in due course you will receive a completion notice to determine the date it is completed for council tax purposes.

For further information regarding completion notices, the criteria used to determine a completion date and your rights of appeal please click on the link below.

Completion notice fact sheet

For further information regarding Completion Notices ;

Tel: 01670 624 884
E-mail: counciltax@northumberland.gov.uk

For queries regarding the inspection of properties;

Tel: 01670 624 882
E-mail: vorevsandbens@northumberland.gov.uk

Write to:

Council Tax Section
Northumberland County Council
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
NE63 9XL

Section 6 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 sets out who is liable for the council tax. The owner is liable where there are no residents.

Definitions

The "owner", in relation to any dwelling, is the person who fulfils the following conditions:

has a material interest in the whole or any part of the dwelling; and
at least part of the dwelling or, as the case may be, of the part concerned is not subject to a material interest inferior to his interest

'Material interest' is defined as “a freehold interest or a leasehold interest which was granted for a term of six months or more”.

What happens if a tenant moves out before the end of their tenancy agreement?

A tenant with a fixed-term tenancy for six months or more holds a material interest as defined above. If they move out before the end of their tenancy, they are liable for unoccupied charges until their tenancy end-date.

However, a tenant on a periodic or rolling tenancy does not have a material interest as defined above. Therefore, they cannot be held liable for any unoccupied charge due.

What’s a periodic tenancy?

Once a tenant’s fixed-term tenancy expires, and they stay on without a new fixed-term tenancy, it becomes a periodic or rolling tenancy. This means they no longer hold a material interest in the property.

So although they can be charged for the period they are living in the property, they cannot be charged for any unoccupied council tax charges if they move out – even if they haven’t given the landlord notice in accordance with their tenancy agreement.

What about tenants who do not move in on their tenancy start-date?

If their tenancy is a fixed-term tenancy for six months or more, they will be liable for the unoccupied council tax charge from the date their tenancy starts, until the date they move in.

Once they move in, they will be liable for the occupied rate of council tax as long as the property is their sole or main residence.

If you require any further details, please contact us by:

Phone: 0345 600 6400 (charged at your local rate).
Email: counciltax@northumberland.gov.uk
eForm: Complete the council tax enquiry form here.
Visit: View our customer information centre locations here.

Write to:

Council Tax Section
Northumberland County Council
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
NE63 9XL

Click here to let us know if you found the content of the page helpful

Council tax - change of circumstances

Page Contents:

Top Tasks

Council Tax Enquiry

Pay your council tax by direct debit

Council tax - change of address

Change of direct debit details

Council - notifying us of a deceased person

Discount on your council tax

Council tax - new properties and completion notices

Who is liable for council tax on unoccupied rented properties?

Definitions

What happens if a tenant moves out before the end of their tenancy agreement?

What’s a periodic tenancy?

What about tenants who do not move in on their tenancy start-date?

Council tax - contact us

Let us know what you think

What's New

Find Services by A to Z

Our partners

Menu

Council tax - change of circumstances

Page Contents:

Top Tasks

Council Tax Enquiry

Pay your council tax by direct debit

Council tax - change of address

Council - notifying us of a deceased person

Discount on your council tax

Council tax - new properties and completion notices

Who is liable for council tax on unoccupied rented properties?

Council tax - contact us

Let us know what you think

What's New

Find Services by A to Z

Our partners

Menu

Our local area councils

Social Media