Belfast: your local starting point

BFS · NORTHERN IRELAND

Belfast has rates, not Council Tax

In Northern Ireland you pay domestic rates, billed by Land & Property Services rather than the council. Healthcare is run by Health and Social Care (HSC) and prescriptions are free for everyone.

Living in Belfast: what to sort out first

Living in Belfast works differently from England in three ways. There is no Council Tax: you pay domestic rates, which Land & Property Services (LPS) calculates from your home’s capital value. Healthcare is provided by Health and Social Care (HSC), and you register with a GP using form HS200, or HSCR-1 if you are arriving from outside the UK, then receive a medical card. All prescriptions dispensed in Northern Ireland are free. Translink runs public transport, and a day of contactless travel on Metro buses is capped at £4.00.

This page is for people moving to Belfast to work, study or join family. Do not use Council Tax calculators from elsewhere in the UK for a Belfast address.

Belfast City Council ↗ runs local services and, like every Northern Ireland council, sets the district rate. But the rates bill comes from LPS and school admissions go through the Education Authority, so you deal with LPS, not the council, for local tax. Unsure whether an address is in Belfast? Check it on GOV.UK: Find your local council ↗.

Domestic rates in Belfast: how the bill is worked out

nidirect ↗ gives the formula: your home’s rateable capital value multiplied by the regional rate plus the district rate. Capital values are based on property prices on 1 January 2005, and the maximum capital value used is £400,000; anything above that is ignored. LPS sends bills at the beginning of April, covering 1 April to 31 March.

Belfast, 2026/27	Rate per £1 of capital value
Domestic district rate	0.004492
Domestic regional rate	0.005559
Total domestic rate	0.010051

Source: Department of Finance: Rate poundages ↗. We applied that total to sample values:

Capital value	Annual rates before any relief	Who pays in a rented home
£100,000	£1,005.10	Landlord
£150,000	£1,507.65	Landlord
£200,000	£2,010.20	Tenant, unless the landlord agrees to pay
£400,000 or more	£4,020.40	Tenant, unless the landlord agrees to pay

Renting in Belfast: who pays the rates?

According to nidirect ↗:

The landlord pays if the capital value is £150,000 or less, or if the home is a house in multiple occupation (HMO), meaning it is rented to three or more tenants from two or more families.
Above £150,000 the tenant pays, unless the landlord has agreed to pay through an Article 21 application.
A landlord can choose to pay the rates whatever the value.

Before you sign:

Get the full address and look up its capital value with the valuation search on nidirect.
Multiply the value by 0.010051 to estimate the yearly bill.
Ask whether rates are included in the rent and who pays LPS, and get the answer written into the tenancy.
Add the cost to the rent in the cost of living calculator before comparing two homes. Our housing checklist helps you record the answers.

Buying a home? You must tell LPS straight away to avoid a backdated bill, using Sign up for rates ↗.

Help with the bill. Some tenants can get Housing Benefit to help pay their rates. Lone Pensioner Allowance ↗ gives 20% off for people aged 70 or over who live alone. We did not find a general 25% single-person discount like the ones in Scotland and Wales in the sources we checked, so do not budget for one.

Getting around: Translink and Metro buses

Translink runs Metro buses in Belfast and NI Railways trains. On Metro, tap your contactless card or phone once on the driver’s ticket machine reader.

Metro contactless fares	Price
First journey of the day	£2.30
Second journey	£1.70
Daily cap	£4.00

Source: Translink: Contactless payment ↗. To buy a ticket for someone else, tell the driver which paper ticket you want before you tap. On trains you can pay by contactless at the ticket office, a ticket machine or with the conductor. See our UK transport guide.

Healthcare: HSC and registering with a GP

Northern Ireland’s health service is Health and Social Care (HSC), and the local trust is the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust ↗. The Business Services Organisation (BSO) ↗ explains registration:

Choose a GP practice in the area where you live.
Complete form HS200, or HSCR-1 if you are registering from outside the UK. Both are available at GP practices, and HSCR-1 can be downloaded in several languages.
Take the form to the practice.
You will then receive a medical card. Keep it, and use BSO’s online form if you change address.

If you need urgent care that cannot wait until your practice opens, use the GP out of hours service ↗. nidirect lists separate numbers for North and West Belfast and for South and East Belfast.

Prescriptions are free. nidirect ↗ says all prescriptions dispensed in Northern Ireland are free for everyone, and you do not need to do anything to qualify. See our healthcare guide.

Schools in Belfast: P1 and the Education Authority

Northern Ireland’s school starting age depends on the child’s age on 1 July, according to the Department of Education ↗:

Child turns 4…	Usually starts school
Between 1 September and 1 July	At the start of the next school year
Between 2 July and 31 August	In the September after their fifth birthday

Children born in April, May and June are the youngest in the class (“young for year”). Under the School Age (Northern Ireland) Act 2022, parents of children born between 1 April and 1 July can ask to defer the start of primary school by a year, with no educational assessment needed.

First-year primary places (Primary 1) are applied for online in January through the Education Authority, says nidirect ↗, and a place at a particular school is not guaranteed. If you move house and need a new school, contact the Education Authority before you move, as some schools may be full. Our schools guide lists questions to ask.

Students and community services

Queen’s University Belfast is one of the universities in the city. Check any provider on GOV.UK ↗ before you pay, and as a student tenant ask who pays the rates. Read our study in the UK guide.

We found no official source identifying particular neighbourhoods for Arab, Muslim or other communities, so we name none. Choose housing on commute, school and who pays the rates, then search the UKpedia24 directory for mosques, halal restaurants and doctors. Confirm details with each listing before you visit.

Common mistakes

Looking for Council Tax: Northern Ireland has domestic rates instead.
Asking the council to set up your bill: LPS issues rates bills.
Assuming the tenant always pays: the landlord pays for homes valued at £150,000 or less and for HMOs.
Using English or Scottish school dates: the start depends on age on 1 July, and P1 applications open in January.
Using an unregulated immigration adviser: GOV.UK says advisers must be registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) or belong to an approved professional body.

Frequently asked questions

Is there Council Tax in Belfast?

No. You pay domestic rates, billed by Land & Property Services and based on your home’s capital value.

How much are rates on a Belfast home?

Multiply the capital value by 0.010051 for 2026/27. A home valued at £150,000 costs £1,507.65 a year before any relief.

Who pays the rates if I rent?

The landlord, if the value is £150,000 or less or the home is an HMO. Above that, the tenant pays unless the landlord agrees to. Get it in writing.

Are prescriptions free in Belfast?

Yes. All prescriptions dispensed in Northern Ireland are free for everyone.

Which form do I use to register with a GP?

HSCR-1 if you are registering from outside the UK, otherwise HS200. Both are available at GP practices.

How much is a bus journey in Belfast?

By contactless on Metro, the first journey of the day is £2.30, the second £1.70, and the daily cap is £4.00.

Sources

Your next step

Work out rent plus rates in the cost of living calculator, then have your share code ready for landlords and employers. For a complicated immigration case, use an IAA-registered adviser or a solicitor; GOV.UK points people in Northern Ireland to the Law Society of Northern Ireland to find solicitors who give immigration advice. Start with our immigration lawyers directory and confirm registration before you pay.

Reviewed 24 September 2026.