Council tax follows the occupant rather than the property. When you move house, you need to inform your current council that you are leaving to stop being billed for the old address, and register with the new council at your new address. Doing both promptly prevents overpaying or incurring debt.

Notifying Your Current Council

Contact your current local authority to inform them of your moving date and new address. Most councils provide an online form for moving house notifications, accessible through their website. You should contact them as soon as you know your moving date, and certainly no later than the day you move. The council will close your account from your moving date and calculate any refund owed if you have paid in advance, or any final amount owed if you are behind.

If you pay by direct debit, the council will typically cancel or adjust the direct debit automatically once they process the change. Check your bank statements after moving to confirm that payments have stopped if you have changed to a new address.

Registering at Your New Address

Contact the council for your new address to register for council tax. If you are moving within the same council area, your existing account details may be updated rather than requiring a new registration, but you still need to notify the council of the move to ensure billing is correctly allocated to the new property. If you are moving to a different council area, the new council has no information about you and you must proactively register to set up the account and direct debit.

Failure to register at the new address does not exempt you from council tax liability; you are liable for council tax at any property you live in regardless of whether you have registered. Councils have powers to identify and charge residents who have not registered, and can issue summonses and apply enforcement action for unpaid council tax.

Claiming Single Person Discount

If you are the sole occupant of the new property, you are entitled to a 25 percent single person discount on council tax. When registering at the new address, inform the council if you qualify for this discount. If you previously shared with others and are now living alone, the discount may not be automatically applied; you need to claim it.

Empty Properties Between Tenancies

If you are leaving a property that will be empty for a period before new occupants move in, the liability for council tax during the empty period falls on the owner of the property, not the previous occupant. As a departing tenant, your liability ends on the date you vacate; as a homeowner selling the property, your liability continues until a buyer completes and takes possession.

Summary

Cancel council tax at your old address by notifying the current council of your moving date online or by phone. Register at the new address with the relevant council immediately on moving. Claim any single person discount if applicable. Request written confirmation of account closure to protect against future disputes. As a homeowner selling, council tax liability continues until completion.