Private Landlords and Council Tax

image of hands holding a set of house keys and a model house
Owner's Responsibility

 

If you rent out property, either direct or through an agent, you will still be responsible for providing us with information about the tenants who live in your properties.

After you have viewed the information required we would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete our short survey.

 

If someone else leases out your properties on your behalf, you should tell them to keep us up to date with any tenancy changes.

For us to decide who is responsible for paying Council Tax, we need you to confirm the following details, in writing, as soon as possible after there has been a change to a tenancy:
  • the address of the property (including the flat number)
  • the names of all tenants who are moving out of the property
  • the date the tenants' lease ended
  • the tenants' new addresses, if you know this
  • the names of all tenants who are moving into the property
  • the date the new tenants' lease started
  • the previous addresses of all new tenants, if you know these details
  • confirmation of whether the property is let as furnished or unfurnished

We may also need a copy of any lease.  If we do, we will contact you.

 

The owner will be responsible for Council Tax between tenancies.

 

Other circumstances where the owner is responsible for Council Tax include:

 

  • if the owner is also living in the property with the tenants, and
  • if the property is used as service flats, where each tenant has individual lease agreements, pays rent separately and shares toilet and cooking facilities

 

Discounts and exemptions

 

If your property is furnished but no-one is living in it, you (as the owner) can claim a 10% discount for as long as the property is not being rented out.  If the last tenant was a student, you may also be excused from having to pay your Council Tax for up to four months.  This is known as an 'exemption'.

 

If your property is unfurnished and not being rented out, you may qualify for a six-month exemption of 100%.

 

Your property can also be exempt if all the people living in it are full-time students and we have proof of this for each person.  You should ask your student tenants to send us the appropriate university or college documents as soon as possible.

 

As the owner, or as an agent acting on behalf of the owner, it is in your interest to keep us fully informed of any tenancy changes and make sure that we have the appropriate information and documents to confirm who is responsible for paying Council Tax for your property.

 

For more information on the above and many more council services available to landlords, visit www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Business/PrivateSectorLandlords

 

After you have viewed the information required we would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete our short survey.