Challenges to the legality of council tax

Council tax is a statutory tax on residents and some owners of homes in the council's area. It's not a charge for individual services provided.

The amount of money we collect from council tax goes into a central fund. This is so we can provide services to benefit the whole community of Redbridge. 

You cannot opt out of paying council tax

Some people - including those calling themselves 'Freeman on the Land' - think that people are only bound by the contracts and laws they have agreed to.

You cannot choose whether you are liable for council tax. And you cannot choose which laws to obey and which to ignore. Being a 'freeman' does not exempt you from paying council tax.

Beware of misleading advice

There are several websites giving wrong and misleading advice about council tax law. If you're considering using that type of information, you should get professional legal advice.

You should be aware that arguments based on archaic law such as The Magna Carta have no legal basis. We do not accept these arguments. We’ll still take action to get the money that is owed.

Find details of qualified lawyers on Law Society

We’ll do our best to answer enquiries about council tax. But, we’ll refuse to respond to lengthy enquiries that are focused on hypothetical arguments and have no basis in statute. This uses our resources at the expense of other taxpayers.

There is no contract involved

You do not need to have a signed legal contract agreeing to be liable for council tax.

In the UK, the legal responsibility for paying Council Tax is set out by the Local Government Finance Act 1992. This sets out a council's rights to demand payment of council tax. It enables us to fund services, calculate council tax charges and determine who is liable.

Council Tax legislation

The legislation that covers council tax is freely available from the government website:

If you do not pay your council tax

If you do not pay your council tax, we'll take action to get the money that is owed.

In extreme cases, this could even lead to a prison sentence. In the Manchester Magistrates' Court vs McKenzie (2015) case, an individual who attempted to use similar 'Freeman on the Land' defences in court ended up in prison for 40 days

Find out what happens if you do not pay your council tax

If you're struggling to pay your council tax, check if you can get help to pay your council tax.

Appeal your council tax

You can make appeals in writing to us if you feel that:

you should not be responsible for paying the council tax bill
you think your property should be exempt
the amount charged is incorrect
your council tax support is calculated incorrectly
you consider a penalty has been applied incorrectly

You need to tell us what you are appealing against and give the reasons.

You still need to pay council tax until your appeal is decided. If your appeal is successful any overpayments will be refunded.

Send your appeal to council.tax@redbridge.gov.uk

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