I thank you in advance for any advice. I can't seem to find any info dealing with this. CAB are about as useful as a wax cooker. I will leave out place names - so i can't be identified. I am a full time student in X council. I rent a flat as somewhere to sleep on the days I have lectures. I also have a home in Y council. I am married. The X council asked me to tell them who is resident at my flat in X council. I said, I am married, my wife will visit me, what does 'resident' mean? how many days can my wife stay before being classed as resident? They didn't answer and just decided that my wife is therefore resident. They promptly sent a bill giving me the 25% discount for being a student but said my wife must pay because they assume my wife must be resident. My wife is unemployed, although, we pay council tax in Y council, as we are too lazy to claim for council tax credit. But, paying in 2 councils was a bit much, so we assumed that if the council charges council tax for my wife in council X, then it can also give council tax credit. The council tax credit was refused because my wife couldn't prove she is resident at the flat in X council. Well Duh! we told the council she isn't - they said they assume she is. So, now they say, that 'oooo your wife is most definitely resident because she said she was, in this application for council tax credit' - ignoring of course that it was refused on the grounds she cannot prove she is resident! Basically, apologies for the long post. But what is the legal basis for this? can the council charge me council tax purely because i am married? they have said i need to prove that my wife is not resident here. but i am not really sure how to do that. (they won't provide a definition of what residence means) i understand that as the leaseholder i need to pay council tax (but of course i am a full-time student so am entitled to pay no council tax) who is in the right here? do i really have to pay council tax for myself and my wife in both councils? seems a bit harsh. they talk about the 'main address' and the flat is neither mine nor my wife's main address in many respects. our belongings are at our main address in Y council, our bank statements go there, we do everything there. the flat is purely a crash pad for a few weeks during term time. any idea how to approach the council. i feel a bit insain repeating the same thing to them and getting the same moronic response. thanks again! if i just ignore the council tax letters what will they do? will i get taken to court? how will a court view what i have written here?