Freeman on the Land

The Freeman on the Land movement and similar groups believe individuals have to explicitly consent to a contract or law in order to be bound by it.

However, contract law and alleged rights under common law sit outside the legislation related to the administration and collection of council tax.

Claiming to be a 'freeman' does not exclude you from paying council tax, as your liability for council tax has been determined by the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

The constitutional arguments on common law, individual consent and the contractual relationships in paying your council tax were considered in the High Court as recently as March 2024 in the case of Kofa v Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council.

Mr Justice Fordham ruled paying council tax was not a contractual requirement and an individual gives consent to an elected Member of Parliament, regardless of who the individual voted for or whether the individual voted at all.

As such, Rugby Borough Council takes legal action against all individuals who withhold paying council tax.

We advise anyone with concerns about council tax charges to seek proper legal advice.

While the council does its best to answer all relevant council tax enquiries, we reserve the right to refuse to respond to lengthy, spurious enquiries which focus on hypothetical arguments which have no basis in law.