Council tax
All households in East Renfrewshire, whether privately owned or rented, are responsible for paying Council Tax. This important source of income ensures that we can provide a wide range of essential services to all our residents.
You should receive your Council Tax bill every year in March. You will find the current charges for Council Tax in the Council Tax-banding page.
Information about Council Tax benefits can be found in our Council Tax Benefit Leaflet 2009-10 and the Quick Guide to Council Tax Benefit 2009-10. These are available to download at the bottom of this page.
You can pay Council Tax by a number of methods. The best way to pay is by direct debit meaning you have a choice of five different payment dates i.e. 1st, 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th.
Moving house
If you are moving house, you need to tell us if:
you currently live in East Renfrewshire and are about to move to another property within East Renfrewshire
you have just moved from a property in East Renfrewshire to another in East Renfrewshire
you are moving, or have moved, into East Renfrewshire from another area
You can either complete an online form, or get in touch and we will post a form to you. Please note: you do not need to complete the property reference number on the form.
You must also complete a new direct debit mandate, even if you already pay by direct debit. Submit the completed mandate part of the form to us and we will send it on to your bank or building society.
Contact
Council Tax
Council Offices
211 Main Street
Barrhead
G78 1SY
Telephone: 0141 577 3002
Website: council tax enquiry form
How your Council Tax money wil be spent in 2009/10
Through seeking out efficiency savings from organisational restructuring, reviewing processes, cutting red tape, collaborative procurement of supplies and services, investment in front-line services will be maximised.
Investment in Education will continue with the completion of an extension to St Ninian’s High School in late summer, adding additional science accommodation to the school. The Education IT network across the Council will also continue to be refreshed to prepare staff and pupils for a new national on-line learning environment. From August 2009 the entitlement to free school meals will be extended to all primary and secondary pupils of families in receipt of tax credits.
The Community Health and Care Partnership will devote resources to ensure that all disadvantaged children get extra help. In addition they will also develop a more customer focused older people’s and disability service, to enable people to remain at home for as long as possible to live as independently as they can. Allowances for Kinship carers will be developed during the year.
Construction of the new Barrhead Health and Social Care Centre will commence during the year in partnership with the local community.
A new youth facility is to be opened in early summer in the former Barrhead museum building.
We will increase the budget for the maintenance of the road network. The community warden service will be expanded offering a broader range of services including enforcement and property security together with high visibility patrolling on a 24/7 basis.
Audio files
The files below are audio versions of the pdf documents that can be found at the bottom of this page.
The following guides have been prepared to help visually impaired users. Select the links below to start downloading and playing the content, using your prefered media player on your computer.The guide is available as separate chapter downloads. Their individual duration times and file sizes are indicated below.
| Description | Duration (mins : sec) | WMA | MPEG4 |
|---|---|---|---|
Your Council Tax 2009 - 2010 contents | 00:52 | ||
Budget for 2009 - 2010 | 00:48 | ||
How much will I pay? | 03:56 | ||
Water and sewerage charges | 00:34 | ||
East Renfrewshire's budget explained | 01:40 | ||
Discounts and reductions | 00:58 | ||
Council tax benefit | 01:43 | ||
Just moved in to a new house | 00:32 | ||
How your money is spent | 07:48 | ||
Who pays the bill | 01:01 | ||
Customer connect | 01:12 | ||
Payment difficulties | 01:46 | ||
Ways to pay | 02:01 | ||
Business rates | 01:14 | ||
Enquires and information | 01:44 |
(WMA 834kb)
(MPEG4 - 774kb)Frequently Asked Questions
- Question: What are the banding charges for council tax?
- Answer: Your Council Tax is based on the value of your property, which is decided by the Assessor from the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board. The value or band assigned to your home reflects the Assessor’s opinion of your property’s open market value as at 1 April 1991. Your band will be shown on your Council Tax bill. For current band charges, please check our "Council Tax - banding" web page.
- Question: How can I pay my Council Tax?
- Answer: You can pay your Council Tax in a variety of ways: online, by telephone or by Direct Debit for example. Please see our webpage "Account enquiries and payments" for full details.
- Question: How do I obtain a payment card for Council Tax?
- Answer: Contact our Customer Services Officers on (0141) 577 3002 to arrange to have a card sent out to you. Alternatively, you can email ctax@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk, with your name, address and reference number.
- Question: What happens if I don't pay my Council Tax?
- Answer: If you pay by monthly instalments, and you do not pay an instalment in full on the day it is due, we will send you a reminder notice. This will ask you to pay the outstanding balance of the instalment within seven days.
The reminder comes in two parts. If part 1 is unpaid within the seven days' timescale, you will lose the right to pay in instalments and part 2 of the notice becomes active. This means the full year's balance is due and you will have fourteen days to pay this total.
If you do not pay this amount within fourteen days, a summary warrant will be taken to recover the debt. At this stage a 10% statutory surcharge is added to the outstanding balance on your account.
By law, you cannot receive more than two reminders in any one financial year. - Question: How do I register for council tax?
- Answer: If you have just moved into a new house in the area, call us on (0141) 577 3002 and ask for a change of occupier form. Alternatively, download the "Moving home within East Renfrewshire" form from our publications directory. If you require any status discounts, let us know. Usually you pay Council Tax from the date you move into your new house.
There are more Frequently Asked Questions - View the complete list
Council Tax Benefits - Quick Guide 2008 / 09 (PDF 28.7kb)
Social bookmarks - What are these?