The following are exempt from Council Tax. There are specific criteria that must be met for each exemption. If the property is or has been:
- owned by a charity (exempt for up to six months). A dwelling owned by a body established for charitable purposes only, which is unoccupied and has been so for a period of less than 6 months and was last occupied in furtherance of the objects of the charity
- left empty by someone who is now in prison
- left empty by someone who has moved to receive personal care in a hospital or a home, such as a nursing home
- Repossessed (in possession of the mortgage company)
- waiting for probate or letters of administration to be granted, and for up to six months after
- the responsibility of a trustee in bankruptcy
- empty because the law has said it must not be lived in
- waiting to be lived in by a minister of religion
- left empty by students who live elsewhere to carry out their course
- unable to be let separately because it is part of a main property or there is a planning restriction
If you own an exempt property, you do not receive a Council Tax bill but you are sent an Exempt Dwelling Notification.
There is no Council Tax discount for empty or unoccupied properties, the full Council Tax is payable unless it is exempt for one of the above reasons.
