Freeman on the Land

The Freeman on the Land movement and similar groups, commonly believe that they are bound only by statute laws they consent to.

Being a ‘freeman’ does not exempt any person from paying Council Tax. Council Tax is not optional and not something you consent to. If you are liable to pay Council Tax, you must make your payments.

The liability to pay Council Tax falls under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and later regulations. This is a statute created by a democratically elected Parliament of the United Kingdom which has received the assent of the Crown.

For more information please visit the Local Government Finance Act 1992 on the Government website.

Liability to pay Council Tax is set by The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992. This gives local authorities the right to demand Council Tax which is used to fund essential local services.

For more information please visit The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 (legislation.gov.uk) on the Government website.

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.

Freeman on the land arguments have been considered and ruled against by the courts and anyone who withholds payment, will have recovery action taken against them. Should the Council need to take recovery action additional costs will be added to the amount owed.

Very occasionally we get people who are convinced that using an archaic law means they don’t have to pay Council Tax and there are many misleading articles and templates on the internet regarding the legality of Council Tax. Anyone drawing on these for advice 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.

If you have any concerns over the charging of Council Tax, please seek proper legal advice, rather than relying on internet sources or forum statements which may be incorrect or misleading.

While we do our best to answer all relevant enquiries about Council Tax, we reserve the right to refuse to respond to lengthy spurious enquiries that focus on hypothetical arguments that have no basis in statute which use our resources at the expense of other taxpayers. This includes letters and notices served on the Council’s Chief Executive with the same misleading reasoning.