UK Council Tax for newbies

Living in another country has its upsides, you get to rediscover a whole new way of living. But it's got its downsides as well, bills being one of them!
In the UK, on top of paying for the rent, you have to pay the council tax. I've heard many people not knowing exactly what it was or even people moving in a flat because the rent was rather cheap and then being in for a big surprise when receiving the first instalment of the council tax!
Better come prepared... here is a wee guide to the Council Tax for foreigners!

First off, the council tax includes water and sewerage services, so no extra bill to pay for your water consumption. Then you have to learn how it works.
There are 8 'bands', 'A' being the cheapest, 'H' the dearest. The price of the council tax depends on the value of the property, meaning if you have a two bedroom flat with a view on the sea you'll pay more than a one bedroom flat with view on the street, which makes sense.
The amount charged for Council Tax varies from county to county so I can't give exact figures. As an example here are the figures for my own county, North Ayrshire.
As said before, the Council Tax includes the water and sewerage services assessed and charged by Scottish Water. My 'current valuation banding' is 'D' which consists in a charge of £1152 per annum for the council tax part, add to this £171.72 for water charges and £194.13 for wastewater charge, thus a total of £1517.85 per annum.
You can either pay the whole amount once a year or get 10 instalments free of charge.
A band 'A' in my county means a total amount of £1,011.90 and a band 'H' of £3,035.70.

In the UK the fiscal year runs from April to April and the council tax is payable 10 months a year. This means that you have to pay 10 instalments from April to January and then you pay nothing in February and March.

If you share the accomodation, the council tax won't be multiplied but divided so each person will pay only a share of it. On the other hand, if you live on your own, you automatically get a 25% discount.

One last thing to know, just like any governmental charge, it will steadily increase!

What you need to remember when moving in the UK, is that the council tax is just as important as the rent so never signs a lease before checking the council tax band. As far as I know it is not the landlord's responsability to provide you with the band, so always check with the local authorities before agreeing to somehting you can't afford.
Last thing to look out for is whether the rent includes bills. You might find a bedroom in a share flat with a rent of £250 plus bills and go for it as it's pretty cheap considering. However, across the street there might be a bedroom with a rent of £320 all inclusive, and this would be a bargain. The electricity, gas, council tax and sometimes TV licence and others are included in the rent.

Finding a place to live in the UK is no nightmare and everything goes smoothly 9 times out of 10 even for foreigners, but it's always good to know what you'll be facing!

To find out more about the council tax in your county, here are a few links.

- Scottish Assessors: Information regarding the council tax in Scotland
- Valuation Office Agency: Counterpart for England and Wales
- DirectGov: Provides a list of all counties in the UK and the websites addresses.