Some properties are exempt from Council Tax because they are
empty, or because of the circumstances of the people that live in
them. Many of the exemptions are ongoing, but some only apply
for 6 - 12 months, after this a 100% charge becomes payable.
Empty properties that are exempt:
CLASS A: Unoccupied and unfurnished
properties
Unoccupied and unfurnished properties which need major repairs
or are being structurally altered (classed as uninhabitable). The
exemption can continue for up to 12 months. Newly built dwellings
can be exempt for up to six months after completion if they remain
unoccupied.
PLEASE NOTE THIS EXEMPTION ENDS ON 31 MARCH 2013 and is replaced
by a 12 month discount of 75%. Following on from this a 100%
charge is due on the empty property, if after 2 years the property
remains empty a 50% premium is applied to the charge.
What are Major Repair Works?
Many vacant properties have work done. Many people
decorate, refit a bathroom or kitchen. If this is the type of
work you are doing to your property, then this is not classed as
major repair work, or major structural alterations.
CLASS B: Empty properties owned by charities
The property will be exempt for up to six months from the date
it was last lived in, as long as this was by the charity.
CLASS C: Empty and unfurnished properties - Generally Vacant
Properties
These properties can be exempt for up to six months from the
date it was last lived in and/or the furniture removed, or from the
date a new property was treated as complete.
PLEASE NOTE THIS EXEMPTION ENDS ON 31 MARCH 2013 and is replaced
by 100% discount for 1 month followed by 25% discount for 5 months.
Following on from this a 100% charge is due on the empty property,
if after 2 years the property remains empty a 50% premium is
applied to the charge.
CLASS D: Properties left unoccupied by prisoners
Such properties will be exempt if the person who would be
responsible for the bill is in prison and no-one else lives in the
property.
CLASS E: Properties left unoccupied by patients in hospitals
and care homes
The property will be exempt if the person who would normally pay
the council tax bill is a patient living in a hospital, nursing or
care home.
CLASS F: Properties left unoccupied when a person dies
The property will be exempt if an administrator or executor of
the person's estate is responsible for the property and no-one else
lives in the property. It will be exempt for up to six months after
probate has been granted.
CLASS G: Properties registered as unfit for living in, or if
the property cannot be lived in by law
The property will be exempt if it is empty because of compulsory
purchase (this is where an Act of Parliament gives authorisation to
a local authority or the Minister of Transport to take land) or
where planning permission prevents occupancy. Nobody must live in
the property and no time limit applies.
CLASS H: Unoccupied properties which will next be used by
ministers of religion
An unoccupied dwelling, such as a vicarage, is exempt
indefinitely if it is held to be available for occupation by a
minister of any religious denomination and from where s/he will
perform the duties of her/his office.
CLASS I: Properties left unoccupied by people receiving
care
The property will be exempt if the person who would normally pay
council tax is living somewhere else (other than a hospital or
home) to receive care and no-one else lives in the property.
CLASS J: Properties left unoccupied by people who are providing
care
The property will be exempt if the person who would normally pay
council tax does not live in the property because he or she
provides care somewhere else, and no one else lives in the
property.
CLASS K: Properties left unoccupied by a student
The property must have been the only or main home of one or more
students. One of the students would have had to be responsible for
paying the council tax, and have been a student for the whole time
since it was his or her home.
CLASS L: Repossessed properties
The property must not be lived in. The property will be exempt
if the mortgagee is in possession under the terms of a mortgage
contract (this is where the mortgage payments have not been made,
so the property is repossessed by the building society or mortgage
lender).
CLASS Q: Properties Held by a Trustee
Unoccupied properties held by a trustee in their capacity as a
trustee in bankruptcy.
CLASS T: Unoccupied properties which are part of a bigger
building and cannot be let or sold separately because of planning
rules
This could apply to empty granny flats.
The property forms part of a single property which includes
another dwelling, and cannot be let separately without a breach of
planning control.
CLASS R: A dwelling made up of a pitch or a mooring which is
not occupied by a caravan or a boat
For Council Tax purposes an empty pitch or mooring is exempt
from charge.
Occupied properties that are exempt:
Halls of residence and properties only occupied by students
CLASS O: Armed Forces homes, barracks, mess and married
quarters
To qualify for a property must be owned by the Secretary of
State for Defence and be used to house United Kingdom armed
forces. The property can be either occupied or
unoccupied. This includes for example, armed forces barracks
and married quarters.
CLASS P: Properties lived in by a person with a relevant
association to a visiting force
A property is exempt indefinitely if at least one person who
would be liable is a member (or dependant) of a visiting force and
he/she is neither a British Citizen nor ordinarily resident in the
UK.
CLASS S: Properties which are only lived in by anyone under the
age of 18
A property only occupied by a person or persons under 18 is
exempt from charge.
CLASS M: Halls of residence
The property will be exempt if it is lived in mainly by students
and owned or managed by an educational establishment.
CLASS N: Properties occupied entirely by students
The property will be exempt if it is lived in by one or more
students, either as full-time or term-time accommodation.
CLASS U: Properties which are only lived in by someone who is
severely mentally impaired
A dwelling is exempt if it is only occupied by a person(s) who
is/are severely mentally impaired
CLASS V: Properties lived in by someone who is a diplomat
A dwelling is exempt if at least one liable person has
diplomatic, Commonwealth or consular privilege or immunity and that
person is not a permanent resident of the UK.
CLASS W: An occupied annexe
Where the resident is a dependent relative of the person(s)
living in the other part of the property and is over 65 years old
or disabled or severely mentally-impaired.
Last Updated - 15/03/2013