💰
Council Tax
Discounts, exemptions, what happens if you can't pay, and challenging your bill.
🎓
Council Tax Exemptions
Who doesn't pay council tax, students, pensioners, foster carers, single occupancy discount.
📊
Council Tax Bands
How to check your band, whether you're in the right one, and how to appeal for a refund.
🔎
Council Tax Band Checker
Check your band free on the official England, Wales and Scotland tools, plus band values for every nation.
📋
Housing Applications
How the housing register works, priority banding, appealing a decision.
📨
Council Complaints
How to complain to your council and escalate to the Local Government Ombudsman.
🏗️
Planning Permission
Permitted development, objecting to planning applications, and appealing a refusal.
💰
Council Tax Reduction
Means-tested support to reduce your council tax bill, how to apply and what you can get.
⚖️
Council Tax Appeals
Challenge your band or a liability decision, the Valuation Tribunal, and refunds for past overpayments.
📮
Council Tax Debt
Behind on council tax? Reminder notices, liability orders, bailiffs, and how to stop enforcement.
📂
Freedom of Information
Your right to request information from councils and public bodies, and what to do if they refuse.
What this section covers
Councils decide a lot that touches daily life: how much council tax you pay, whether you are offered a social home, what can be built next door, and how your complaint is handled. This section explains your rights in each of those areas, using the official rules and naming the body that hears an appeal.
Most council matters depend on where you live. Council tax bands, appeals, enforcement and complaints work differently in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and each guide says which nation it covers. The table below shows the main differences.
Which guide do I need?
Find the line that sounds like your situation and go to the guide beside it.
| If you want to | Read | You will find |
|---|---|---|
| You want to understand council tax, discounts and what you owe | Council Tax | Who pays, the discounts and exemptions, and what happens if you cannot pay. |
| You think you are in the wrong council tax band | Council Tax Bands | How to check your band, whether it is right, and how to appeal for a refund. |
| You just want to look up your band | Council Tax Band Checker | Links to the official checker for England, Wales and Scotland, and the band values in every nation. |
| You want to challenge your band or a liability decision | Council Tax Appeals | The appeal route, the tribunal that hears it, and refunds for past overpayments. |
| You want to know whether you qualify for an exemption or discount | Council Tax Exemptions | Who does not pay council tax, including students, pensioners and foster carers, and the single person discount. |
| You are on a low income and need help with the bill | Council Tax Reduction | Means-tested support that reduces your bill, how to apply and what you can get. |
| You are behind on council tax | Council Tax Debt | Reminder notices, liability orders, bailiffs, and how to stop enforcement. |
| You want to apply for social housing, or you are homeless | Housing Applications | How the housing register works, priority banding, the council's homelessness duty, and appealing a decision. |
| You want to complain about your council | Council Complaints | The council's own process first, then the ombudsman for your nation. |
| You want to object to a planning application or appeal a refusal | Planning Permission | Permitted development, objecting to an application, and appealing a refusal. |
| You want information from a council or public body | Freedom of Information | How to make a request, what can be withheld, and what to do if you are refused. |
Where the UK nations differ
Most council guides say which nation they cover. These are the differences that matter most.
| Topic | Where it applies | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| Complaints | A different ombudsman in each nation | England: the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Scotland: the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. Wales: the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. Northern Ireland: the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman. England, Scotland and Wales share a 12 month limit. |
| Council tax bands and appeals | England, Wales and Scotland | Bands are based on valuations from 1 April 1991 in England and Scotland and 1 April 2003 in Wales. England uses the Valuation Office Agency and the Valuation Tribunal for England, Wales uses VOA Wales, and Scotland uses the local Assessors and a separate tribunal. Northern Ireland does not use council tax bands. |
| Council tax debt | England and Scotland | In England the council applies to the magistrates court for a liability order. In Scotland it obtains a summary warrant from the sheriff court. |
| Homelessness | England and Wales, and Scotland | In England and Wales the council must assess you if you are homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, and the duty to house depends on priority need. In Scotland everyone who is homeless has a right to permanent accommodation, not just those in priority need. |
| Planning appeals | A different body in each nation | In England appeals go to the Planning Inspectorate. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own equivalents, and Scotland has its own permitted development rules. |
| Planning enforcement time limits | England and Wales | In England, since 25 April 2024, the limit is a flat 10 years for every kind of breach. Wales keeps the older split: 4 years for building work or a change of use to a single dwelling, and 10 years for any other breach. |
| Freedom of information | The UK, and Scotland separately | The Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies across the UK. Scotland has its own Act of 2002 with broadly the same rights, and the appeal goes to the Scottish Information Commissioner, not the Information Commission (formerly the ICO). |
All guides in this section
11 guides. Every one shows at the top when it was last checked and against which official sources.