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Challenges to the legality of council tax

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Peterborough City Council is responsible for billing and collecting council tax, which is payable by occupiers and property owners.

Council tax is not a direct charge for individual services provided to residents and is therefore not adjusted to reflect the level or types of services used by each taxpayer.

The amount of council tax collected from each taxpayer is paid into a central fund which allows the Council to fund the provision of vital services to local residents, benefiting the whole community.

Laws which require council tax payment

Your liability is determined by the following legislation:

  • The Local Government Act 1972
  • The Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Part 1, Chapter 1, Sections 6-9)
  • Council tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992
  • Council tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2011

This legislation covers the liability to pay, billing and recovery of council tax. The legislation can be viewed at: Legislation.gov.uk

There are many misleading articles, templates and forums on the internet regarding the legality of council tax, and anyone relying on these should exercise caution and seek proper legal advice before using them as a defence against council tax liability based on contract, consent and common law.

Enquiries and challenges

We do our best to answer all relevant enquiries about council tax. However, we reserve the right to refuse to respond to enquiries that focus on hypothetical arguments that:

  • Have no legal basis
  • Ask for a personal opinion
  • Ask for information that does not fall within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)

Such requests place a burden on our limited resources at the expense of other taxpayers. Where appropriate, exemptions permitted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) will be applied and an appropriate refusal notice issued.

We have included some frequent asked questions at the bottom of this page.

What happens if you don't pay council tax

Anyone who withholds payment of their council tax will be subject to recovery and enforcement proceedings being taken against them.

We would recommend that you seek legal advice (at your own expense) before using arguments such as Freeman of the Land as a defence against the payment of council tax. The magistrates are obliged to award ‘reasonable costs’. The level of costs will therefore be linked to the amount of time and effort the council has had to incur in making the application. If this includes large volumes of correspondence and requests for information such as a Freeman on the Land ‘defence’, then it is likely that this will cause the costs applied for to be higher in these individual cases.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

We have seen an increase in the number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests received asking for information relating to this topic. We would like to provide information which clarifies our position.

We understand that the Freedom on the Land movement and similar groups commonly believe that people are only bound by the contracts and laws they have consented to. However, contract law and alleged rights under common law are not the same as legislation relating to the administration and collection of council tax.

You do not have a choice as to whether you are liable for council tax. Being a 'freeman' does not exempt anyone from paying council tax. Your liability for council tax is not dependent on, and does not require, your consent or the existence of a contractual relationship with the council. Any such assertion to the contrary is incorrect and there is no legal basis upon which to make this argument. Anyone who withholds payment will have enforcement action taken against them.

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.

View the article 'Freeman on the Land jailed for failure to pay council tax' on the Local Government Lawyer website.

If you have any concerns over the charging of council tax, please seek independent legal advice. Please do not rely on internet sources, hearsay or forum statements which may be incorrect or misleading.

Some residents consider that council tax is a contract and requires a legal contract and signatures indicating an agreement. Council Tax was created by statute and a contract is not required. Therefore, any reference to the Companies Act, Contracts Act, Bills of Exchange Act or other Acts regarding companies or contracts is irrelevant.

Council tax is deemed outside the scope of VAT and we will therefore not provide a VAT invoice. However, our VAT number is GB121533513.

Peterborough City Council is a local authority within the public sector and therefore does not have a company number.

The hierarchy of who is considered to be the liable party is contained in the Local Government Finance Act 1992 c14 Part 1, Chapter 1, Sections 6 -9. Individual agreement of this is not necessary.

The issue of a Council Tax Demand Notice (the bill) creates the debt. A signature or agreement from a resident is not necessary for council tax, it is a tax, not a contract.

Some residents have asked whether Acts and Statutes (opens Parliament website) are an obligation on them, and about the difference between a Statute and Law and other similar questions regarding legal matters, often stating they have not expressly or impliedly consented to the liability.

Acts of Parliament are Statutes which set out the law. If you have questions regarding other Acts of Parliament or laws, you should seek the advice of a legal professional, not the council.

Legislation is law and you can find it on the legislation.gov.uk website.

Relevant legislation includes:

  • The Local Government Finance Act 1992
  • The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992

Please see The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.

Find information on how council tax works on the GOV.UK website.

There is no contract for council tax.

A signature is not necessary for the billing of council tax and no wet ink signature is mandatory on a court summons either. Previous case law has clarified that the use of a rubber stamp or electronic signature are both valid for the purpose of the court signing a summons.

You can find information in our Statement of Accounts on our finances page.

In order to process personal data, the UK GDPR requires the council to identify a lawful basis for processing. Consent of the data subject is one such lawful basis however it is not the only one. Article 6 of the UK GDPR refers to the six lawful bases and requires that one is set as the basis for processing. The council has identified our lawful basis in this matter as Article 6 (1) (e) which is “processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller”. This in essence requires the processing to have a basis in law. In this instance, the basis is in found in legislation like Local Government Finance Act 1992, The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 and The Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2011

Council tax decisions are not based on automated decision making. Information relating to council tax bands and rates can be located via the link below, together with Data Protection information:

Published: 04 March 2025