Council Tax

When your property is empty, you may be able to get a discount.  What discount and for how long, often depends on the date the last person moved out.  When working out when the last person moved out, we can only count people who stayed in the property for 3 months or more.

Empty property exemptions

You may be able to get a 100% exemption when your property is:

Empty and unfurnished.  We can only award this exemption for up to six months from the date the last person moved out.  If the last person moved out more than 6 months ago, you may be able to get a discount instead. 

A home which can’t be lived in, because it is going through a major repair or reconstruction. 

Left empty by someone who has moved in order to provide personal care to another person; more information will be needed – our application form will guide you through it

Left empty by someone who has moved to receive personal care in a hospital for at least 12 months or moved permanently into a care home.

Empty having been repossessed by a mortgage lender.

An unoccupied annex (‘granny flat’)which has a separate Council Tax bill to your home.

A new build property which has never been lived in and has no furniture. We can give an exemption for up to six months.

A home that is not lived in and which is owned or rented only by full-time students who have their main home somewhere else.

Owned by charity – exempt for up to six months.

An empty agricultural property.

A home not lived in where the only liable person is a trustee in bankruptcy.

Unoccupied and unfurnished property discount

If your property is unoccupied and unfurnished, you may be able to get the following discounts:

10% discount – for the period between 6 and 12 months from the date the last person moved out, as long as the property remains empty.

When the property is unoccupied for more than 12 months – 200% Council Tax charge will be applied, unless the property is actively advertised for sale or let, in which case a further 10% discount can be awarded for up to a further 12 months - for a total of up to 2 years since it became unoccupied.

Unoccupied property that is furnished

10% discount for up to 12 months from the date the last person moved out

When the property is unoccupied for more than 12 months – 200% (double) Council Tax charge will be applied, unless the property is actively advertised for sale or let, in which case a further 10% discount may be awarded for up to 12 more months - for a total of up to 2 years since it became unoccupied.

Under repair

When your property can’t be lived in because of major repair works or reconstruction, you may be able to get a 100% Council Tax exemption.  The exemption is awarded from when the works begin and must end no later than 12 months from the date the last person moved out of the property.

If you are a new owner and the last person moved out of the property more than 12 months ago, you may get a 50% discount instead.

The works carried out on the property must mean that it cannot be lived in, rather than it just being inconvenient to do so.

Second homes

When the property is used as a second home for at least 25 days a year, your Council Tax will be charged at 100%, rather than the 200% charged to empty properties after 12 months. 

You need to complete an application to have your property classified as a Second Home and we usually need evidence that it is occupied for at least 25 days a year.

Holiday Homes

This discount of 50% applies to purpose-built holiday homes which are not permitted to be lived in for the whole year due to licensing or planning permission regulations, or because its construction or facilities make it unsuitable for full-time occupation.

Job-related property

You may be able to get a 50% discount if you already own or rent a property but you must live elsewhere as a condition of your job.  The job-related home must be provided by your employer in order to carry out essential duties of your post, and you must provide a letter from your employer to confirm this.  The rules for this discount are complex and in most cases we will need further information before we can make a decision.

This discount can be awarded when your home has one of the features below, and this feature must be vital to the well-being of the disabled person:

• Enough indoor space for the disabled person to use a wheelchair, and they must need to use it indoors
• Extra kitchen or bathroom for the specific needs of the disabled person
• Extra room (but not bathroom, toilet, or kitchen) that is set up and vital to the disabled person for their additional needs – for example a room set-up for dialysis equipment

When Disablement Relief is awarded, your Council Tax bill will be reduced by one Band. For example if your home is in Band C, your Council Tax will reduce to Band B. When your home is already in Band A, you will also get a discount of roughly 16.5%.

To apply for Disablement Relief, click below:

Apply for your discount

If you, or another adult that lives with you, have been diagnosed as having a Severe Mental Impairment (SMI), then you may be entitled to a reduction in your Council Tax.

Severe Mental Impairment means conditions which result in a loss of intellectual and social functioning, which appears to be permanent, such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, but can also include things like Parkinson’s Disease, severe learning difficulties or a stroke.

The condition must have been certified by a Register Medical Practitioner and you must be entitled to one of the disability benefits listed below.

• Short-term or long-term Incapacity Benefit (IB)
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Attendance Allowance (AA)
• Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA)
• The highest or middle-rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Personal Independence Payment Daily Living Component at either standard or enhanced rate
• An increase in Disablement Pension for constant attendance
• The Disability Element or Severe Disability Element of Working Tax Credit
• Unemployability Supplement (abolished in 1987 but existing claimants remain entitled)
• Constant Attendance Allowance payable under the Industrial Injuries or War Pension schemes
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Income Support which includes a disability premium because of incapacity for work
• An award of Universal Credit (which includes the limited capability for work element; or you are treated as having a limited capability for work)
• Adult Disability Payment
• Child Disability Payment (where this is still in payment for a person over the age of 18)

If you live alone and meet these criteria, your property will be fully exempt from Council Tax.

If you live with one other adult, you will receive a 25% discount (unless that person is also disregarded for Council Tax purposes).

If you live with 2 other adults, then no discount can apply, unless the other adults are both disregarded for Council Tax.

Apply for a Council Tax discount due to Severe Mental Impairment (SMI)

If you already have applied for this discount and just need to get a doctor’s certificate completed, you can get the certificate form here:

Download SMI doctor's certificate

When you are an apprentice or a youth training trainee and live on your own, you can get 50% discount.  If you live with another person who is an apprentice or a youth training trainee, you can receive a 25% discount.

To qualify as an apprentice, you must be:

• Employed to learn a trade or profession
• On a training programme leading to a qualification
• Paid no more than £224 per week before tax and National Insurance

To qualify as a youth trainee you must be:

• Under 25
• On a recognised course or training plan

To apply, click below:

Apply for your discount

Armed forces accommodation is exempt from Council Tax, whether occupied or not. 

Visiting armed forces accommodation is also exempt, when the members of the visiting forces are not British citizens or ordinarily resident in the UK.

Apply for your discount

A care leaver is someone who:

• Is at least 18 but not yet 26;
• Was, on their 16th birthday or any later time, looked after by a Local Authority;
• Is no longer looked after by the Local Authority

Care leavers living on their own don’t need to pay Council Tax until their 26th birthday.  If you are a care leaver living with one other person, you will get a 25% discount.

Apply for your discount

To qualify, you need to provide care for at least 35 hours each week to someone who is not your child (under 18), spouse, or partner.  You must be resident in the same property as the person being cared for.

The person you care for must be entitled to:

• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)  - enhanced rate of Daily Living component
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA) – highest rate of Care component
• Attendance Allowance (AA) – at the highest rate
• Armed Forces Independence Payment

How much discount will you get?

When you live with one other person, you will get 25% discount, unless that other person can get a discount of their own, in which case the total discount will be 50%.

If your home is empty because you have moved to provide care for someone on a long-term basis in their home, you may receive a 100% Council Tax exemption.

Apply for your discount

If you get Child Benefit for someone who is 18 or over, and there are no other adults in the property, you may receive a 25% discount. We may need to see evidence of your Child Benefit.

Apply for your discount

A person detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 or Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 is exempt from Council Tax if they normally live in their house on their own.

Apply for your discount

You may get a discount if you or another person who normally lives with you is in prison or some other form of detention because of a court order.

If you normally live with one other adult and they are imprisoned, you can get a 25% discount. If you are imprisoned and no one else lives in your property, you may get a 100% exemption.

Apply for your discount

People under 18 are not counted for Council Tax.  If your home only has people under 18, you must let us know so we can apply 100% exemption.

If there is one adult in your home, a 25% discount can be awarded, unless that person can also get a discount on their own.

Apply for your discount

You may be able to get a discount if you, or someone who lives with you, are in hospital long-term or permanently moved into a care home.

• Hospital patients must be, or expect to be, in hospital for at least 1 year
• Persons receiving care must have moved into a care home on a permanent basis

If you qualify for this discount and your property is left unoccupied, you may get 100% exemption.  If one other adult remains in the property, a 25% discount can be offered.

Apply for your discount

If you belong to a religious community, you may be able to get a discount when you:

• Have no income or capital and,
• Depend on the religious community for your needs and,
• Belong to a religious community whose main occupation is prayer, contemplation, education, and relief of suffering

You can get 50% discount if you live alone or with other religious community members, or a 25% discount when you live with another adult who does not qualify for a Council Tax discount.

Apply for your discount

A person under the age of 20 who left school or college on 1st May or later, can get a discount up to 31st October of the same year. 

• They must have been at school or college full-time, studying a qualifying course of education (so no higher than Scottish Higher National Certificate or equivalent).
• If they start another full-time course before 31st October, they are likely to qualify for a student discount at that point

Apply for your discount