Some properties are completely exempt from Council Tax. There is no Council Tax payable on any day that the property meets one of the exemption categories below.
Apply for a Council Tax Exemption
Some exemptions are time-limited or have specific conditions. Please contact us to check.
For student exemptions, please visit our student council tax exemption page.
Exemptions for unoccupied properties
- empty and owned by charities (up to 6 months)
- left empty by persons in detention
- left empty by patients in hospitals or care homes
- left empty following a death (up to 6 months after probate)
- unfit for habitation (occupation prohibited by law)
- unoccupied pending use by a Minister of Religion
- left empty by people receiving care
- left empty by people providing care
- left empty by students (students remain liable)
- unoccupied where the mortgagee is in possession
- responsibility of a bankrupt's trustees
- unoccupied caravan pitch or houseboat mooring
- unoccupied annexe not capable of separate occupation (e.g., 'Granny Flat')
Exemptions for occupied properties
- hall of residence (occupied by students, owned/managed by the educational establishment)
- occupied solely by students, disregarded spouses or school leavers
- Ministry of Defence accommodation
- occupied under the Visiting Forces Act
- occupied solely by persons under 18 years old
- occupied by Severely Mentally Impaired persons with a liable person who is either Severely Mentally Impaired or a student; or occupied by at least one Severely Mentally Impaired person and at least one student, regardless of who is liable
- occupied by a diplomat
- annexe occupied by a relative over 65 years old or who is disabled
Changes in your circumstances
If your circumstances change and you think you may no longer be entitled to an exemption, please inform us by getting in touch.
