I've encountered the Shelter guidance on another thread which is definitive and helpful:

A material interest includes a leasehold interest granted for six months or more.[5] This can include an assured, assured shorthold or secure tenant with a fixed term or periodic tenancy.

Terms in a tenancy agreement do not override the hierarchy of liability. For example, a term stating the landlord will pay council tax does not affect the tenant's liability to the local authority.

Thanks, Shelter! The question remains whether in advising me incorrectly of my tax liability the short term lettings company has committed a 'crime' which I can make the basis of my complaint.

As far as I'm aware the only time a landlord usually pays council tax is for void periods or if they are live in landlords with lodgers or if they have a HMO. It sounds like you have been paying council tax when you shouldn't have.

You can right a case to the council for the refund but The problem now would be has the tenant got a contract that states council tax is paid for them by landlord or have they themselves paid it.

Normally council tax if for the address so you will find if you had paid it and tenants paid it then the account would be in credit then they would refund you. I suspect the tenant has not paid so the council may push back a bit but keep trying show your ast agreement to them and explain you paid for X months when it was the responsibility of the tenant.

Anyhow it does sound like you have some rent 2 rent agreement where the tenants might not be yours but those of the company that pays you. This does sound like a right mess you have as your contract with this company is rinsing you and if you signed it you might be liable. Please read your contract and seek legal advice if you don't agree with it.

Have the people who the company moved in now left? Do you have a copy of the agreement between the agency and the occupant?

There's an important distinction between a holiday let and a residential tenancy.

It's a mess to go back to the past; you should sort this out for the future. Ensure that the clients who sign up with the letting agency know they are responsible. If the estate agent signed a contract with the tenant stating that the landlord pays the council tax, then there is nothing you can do. I think the problem you are having is that you have employed a short-term letting agency rather than a traditional letting agency, which would, by default, have the tenants pay. Holiday Let Agencies would never do this by default.

Same boat, I moved out the country for work and am renting my flat out. I did tell the council I was moving but they didn’t get the memo apparently. I paid the council tax for 4 months since November 2024. I informed the letting agent about it and they contacted the council and this month I received a full refund from the day I moved.

I don’t know if the tenant has to now back pay this, but that’s not really my concern as it was their responsibility to pay anyways.

I would say contact the council and tell them you moved abroad on xx date, maybe you would also get a refund.

I feel as though the details around contracts are just frill and dressing. The salient facts to me are:

1. Someone was legally occupying a property as the sole dweller for a period of time over 6 months, in exchange for rent, and in accordance with a contract they signed.

2. The agency who arranged the tenancy expressly told me, when I asked, that the council tax was my responsibility.

3. Regardless of anything else, an agency is not an arbiter of tax responsibility. Who is liable to pay is determined by council policy.

And as a final, side point, advising individuals on tax is a regulated activity, and telling somebody to pay or not pay a tax, when you're not qualified or regulated to do so, is a serious matter and legitimate grounds for complaint.

Is there more to this which I'm not seeing? Is there a competing perspective? Does anyone has experienced of this situation which it would be helpful to share?

In answer to your main question: If it was genuinely a holiday let you would normally be liable for council tax.

At the end of the day unless you can prove to the council tax department that the occupant lived there as their main or principal home you are out of luck.

As to should the agent compensate you in any way it's a question of have they breached their contract with you and have you suffered any loss as a result. The fact that they had a single occupant for so long potentially has (income) tax implications and/or planing issues could be a basis for a complaint.

The key point to start with for the purposes of s6(2) LGFA 1992 is whether they were granted a single tenancy of a period of 6 months or longer?

They're either liable if they were resident or , failing that, then they're (if they had a tenancy granted for 6 month or longer) liable as the owner.

If they were neither resident or holding a tenancy granted for 6 months or longer, then they're not liable under s6(2) LGFA 1992.

A tenancy of less than 6 months that was then extended would not be regarded as a tenancy granted for 6 month longer. So, you'd then have to revert to checking if they were resident.

Bypass your agents and tell the council directly. They’ll adjust your bill.

At this stage it is a contractual dispute. If the agency's terms state that you as LL will cover x, y and z bills and you signed the terms then you have really no recourse to pursue them or anyone for refund.

While councils will pursue the council tax from tenants on first instance, if the lease states the LL will pay council tax bill and the LL hasn't then the tenants can pursue the cost from the LL.

While usually in UK (with exception NI) the tenant will be responsible for bills including council tax (apart from some hmo situations), there is absolutely no law that says that tenants have to be responsible to pay the bills and LL can't pay them.

Based on what you've written there is no evidence that the agency would have lied to you and rather you just agreed to their terms without doing your due diligence, that is on you.