Properties that are exempt from Council Tax

Some properties may be exempt from Council Tax for limited or unlimited periods, including the following:

• Properties occupied only by students, under 18s, or severely mentally impaired people, including those owned by a university or college
• Armed forces accommodation or dwellings occupied by diplomats, or members of visiting forces
• Some annexes, whether unoccupied, or occupied by a dependent relative of the person resident in the main dwelling
• Unoccupied dwellings owned by a charity - up to six months
• Properties which remain unoccupied and in the estate of a deceased owner (or leaseholder for more than 6 months) - from the date of death and for up to 6 months after probate has been granted, unless occupied at any time after the date of death
• Properties which are unoccupied because the liable person (owner or tenant) has moved away to:
  • be a student
  • provide or receive care in a home, hospital or elsewhere
  • be held in detention
• Unoccupied properties owned by a person who has been declared bankrupt and where a trustee has been appointed, or when a mortgagee is in posession of the property
• Unoccupied properties held available for occupation by a minister of religion (e.g. vicarage)
• Unoccupied properties where occupation is prohibited by law
• Unoccupied caravan pitch of boat mooring - up to six months

Discounts and exemptions

There are two situations under which a discount may be applied based on the circumstances of the property:

Empty uninhabitable

From April 1, 2019, the discount for properties which are unoccupied, unfurnished and uninhabitable has changed from 50% for 12 months to 100% for 6 months.

An application should be made where the property is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished and requires or is undergoing major repair works to render it habitable; or is undergoing structural alteration which has not yet been substantially completed; or has been vacant for a continuous period of less than 6 months from the day on which such repair works were, or such structural alteration was, substantially completed.

You can also apply for a discount where the property is an annex that it is used as part of the ‘main’ dwelling, or occupied by a relative of the resident in the main dwelling. 

You can also apply for an exemption if an annexe which is the sole or main residence of someone who is dependent on a relative who lives in the property to which the annexe is attached.

Apply for a council tax discount