Any property whose occupation is prohibited
by law is exempt from Council Tax. The exemption does not apply if
the property remains furnished or is occupied illegally.
Evidence: a copy of the relevant action that has been taken through
the Court or a copy of the closing order that can be obtained from
the Environmental Health department.
Dwelling held for minister of
religion
A property that is held vacant for the future occupation of a
minister of religion is exempt from Council Tax. The minister can
be of any religious denomination and the property does not have to
have previously been occupied by a minister. The property does not
have to be owned by the church.
Evidence: written confirmation from the Church/Religious Body that
the property is vacant and waiting for a minister to be
appointed.
Person living elsewhere to receive personal
care
A property which is unoccupied because the person who would
normally live there is receiving personal care elsewhere is exempt
from Council Tax. The person must be receiving care due to old age,
disablement, illness, past or present mental disorder. This
exemption is to cover those people who instead of going into a home
to be cared for, live with relatives or friends.
Evidence: completed
Unoccupied Dwellings
form, available online. The person must have been the last
person to live in the property and must have been a relevant
absentee ever since, i.e. they have received care for the whole of
the period since they left the property.
Person living elsewhere to provide personal
care
A property where the person who normally resides there has to leave
their home unoccupied to care for someone else. The carer does not
have to live in the same property as the person being cared for
but, for his or her own property to be exempt it must be proven
that they are better able to provide the care by living elsewhere
and not in the exempt property.
Evidence: completed
Unoccupied Dwellings form,
available online.
Dwelling left unoccupied by a
student
A property that is left unoccupied because the normal occupant has
had to move away to be a student. The student has to have been the
last person to reside in the property, and the property has to have
been unoccupied for the whole of the period since they last
occupied. The person must have been a full time student from the
date they vacated or start the course within six weeks of vacating
and have remained a student ever since. Once the person finishes
their course, if the property is still unoccupied but furnished a
90% charge will be payable.
Evidence: a copy of the student certificate from the
college/university confirming that the person is a full time
student and the dates the course starts and finishes. Confirmation
in writing the property is unoccupied and has been since the
student vacated.
Mortgage in possession
A property that has been repossessed by the Mortgagee is exempt
from Council Tax if it is unoccupied. If the property is
repossessed but someone is still living in the property the
property is not exempt. Although the property has been repossessed,
this does not mean there has been a change in ownership - the
mortgagor is still legally the owner.
Evidence: letter of confirmation from the Bank/Building
Society/Mortgagee confirming that the property has been repossessed
and detailing the date the repossession took place.
Students' halls of residence
Halls of Residence for students are exempt from Council Tax. The
accommodation must be occupied predominantly by students, but this
does not prevent part being occupied by staff or other
persons.
Evidence: a letter from the educational establishment
confirming that students occupy the hall predominantly and that the
college is a prescribed educational establishment.
Dwellings occupied only by students, school or college
leavers
A property is exempt from Council Tax if it
is occupied only by students, school or college leavers and by
certain spouses/dependants (where a foreign student is living with
a foreign partner who cannot take employment because their entry
visa to the UK prevents it). The students must be full time and
currently undertaking a course at a prescribed educational
establishment.
Evidence: copy of student certificates for all residents in
property. If a foreign spouse is resident a copy of their visa
detailing work restriction.
Visiting forces accommodation
A dwelling is exempt from Council Tax if any one of the persons who
is liable to pay Council Tax has a relevant association with a
Visiting Force. A relevant association can mean either being an
actual member of that force or part of the civilian component of
that force. If other people live in the property that are not
associated with the force, the property is still exempt.
Evidence: a copy of the posting orders will need to be
produced.
Property left empty by a bankrupt
person
An unoccupied property where the person who would be liable for
Council Tax has been made bankrupt is exempt. The property does not
have to be unfurnished to qualify for this exemption.
Occupied by persons under 18
A property
that is occupied only by under 18 year olds is exempt from Council
Tax. If two under 18 year olds live in a property, and one becomes
18, a 25% discount will be applicable because there is only one
person over 18 residing in the property.
Evidence: confirmation in writing/telephone of the names of the
occupiers and their dates of birth. A check with the electoral
register should be made, if possible.
Unoccupied annex to an occupied
dwelling
A property which is a self contained annex (banded separately) from
the main house is exempt from Council Tax whilst unoccupied and
cannot be let separately without a breach of Planning regulations.
If the main house becomes unoccupied, the exemption can continue on
the main house.
Evidence: by telephone with written confirmation that the annex is
unoccupied.
Dwellings occupied only by severely mentally
impaired person(s)
A property is exempt from Council Tax if only severely mentally
impaired persons occupy it. To qualify for the exemption, the
person must have a certificate signed by a Medical Practitioner and
be in receipt of a qualifying benefit.
Evidence: completed
Main Discount and
Severe Mental Impairment forms, available online,
and proof of entitlement to one of the qualifying benefits (i.e.
letter of entitlement or copy of allowance book).
Main residence of a person with diplomatic
privileged or immunity
A property occupied by a person with diplomatic privilege or
immunity is exempt from Council Tax as long as the person is not a
British citizen. This exemption applies from 1 April
1997 onwards.
Evidence: documentary proof of diplomatic status/immunity.
Occupied annex to an occupied
dwelling
Where an annex is occupied by a relative of the occupant of the
main house, the annex is exempt from Council Tax provided that the
occupant of the annex is:
- Over 65 years of age
- Severely Mentally Impaired
- Substantially and permanently disabled
Evidence: completed Annex Occupied by Elderly or
Disabled Relative form, available online.