Empty Property Exemptions

Circumstances whereby an empty property requires no Council Tax include:

The person has moved to provide care elsewhere

Apply for an exemption if your property is now unoccupied because you have left home to care for another person:
Tell us you're providing care elsewhere, apply online now.

The person has moved to receive care elsewhere

Apply for an exemption if your property is now unoccupied because you are receiving care elsewhere:

Tell us you're receiving care elsewhere, apply online now.

Unoccupied properties owned by a charity

Dwellings left unoccupied and owned by charities can be exempt for up to six months from the date the last resident moved out, providing it was last used for the purpose of the charity.

The owner or leaseholder must be a registered charity. The property can be furnished or unfurnished.

Unoccupied because occupation is prohibited by law

No Council Tax to pay for a property that is unoccupied. The property must not be occupied because it is forbidden by law.

Property left unoccupied by a student who resides elsewhere to study

Any property which is unoccupied and where:

• the owner is a student living elsewhere because of their studies; and
• the dwelling was last occupied only by one or more students as their sole or main residence.

In some cases the qualifying person may not have become a student until after changing their main residence. In these cases, he or she must have become a student within six weeks of leaving the property for the exemption to apply.

Second homes or properties that are being refurbished

If you have a property which is in a poor state of repair, or undergoing substantial refurbishment work or structural alterations, the Council Tax remains payable unless the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) deletes it from the Council Tax list. The VOA will only do this if it is derelict and uninhabitable, or if the work is substantial and the property is being rebuilt or structurally altered.

Further information can be obtained from the VOA - clicking on the "Challenging your Council Tax band" button below will take you to the VOA website

To enquire about any of the circumstances described above, please click on the button below and select Discounts and Exemptions from the form menu.