Discounts and exemptions
Contents
- Introduction
- Single person discount
- Student
- Severely mentally impaired person (SMI)
- Care leavers
- Carer
- Apprentice, youth trainee or skill seeker
- Disability banding relief
- Person in hospital or care home
- Person in detention or prison
- People who provide care or who are cared for
- Person for whom child benefit is payable
- People under the age of 18
- Unoccupied and unfurnished property
- Unoccupied and furnished property discount (not a second home)
- Changes for second homes
- Estate of deceased person
- Spouse, civil partner, or dependent of foreign student
- School leaver
- Religious communities
- Manse or similar dwelling
- Dwelling repossessed by a mortgage lender
- Job-related dwellings
- Occupation prohibited by law/dwellings empty under statute
- Trustee in bankruptcy
- Voluntary care worker
- Visiting forces accommodation
- Ukraine refugees
Unoccupied and furnished property discount (not a second home)
You may qualify for a discount on your council tax charge if you own or rent a furnished property that no one is living in, and it is not a second home.
You will need to apply for this discount as this is not automatically granted.
Who can apply?
You may qualify for a 10% council tax discount, exclusive of water and sewerage charges for up to a maximum of 12 months from the date the property was last occupied as a sole or main residence for three months or more.
However, if the property is actively being marketed for sale or rent, a further period of up to 12 months of 10% discount can be awarded.
10% discount can therefore be awarded for a maximum period of 24 months provided the property is actively being marketed for sale or rent. After the property has remained unoccupied and furnished for 24 months in total, the discount will end, and a 100% additional council tax levy charge will apply.
We periodically review all exemptions and discounts to confirm eligibility.
How do I apply?
To apply for this discount, sign in or register on our Open Portal online account:
Evidence required to support your application
Actively being marketed for sale: a copy of the home report and information of where the property is being advertised for this purpose.
Actively being marketed for rent: Information of where the property is being advertised for this purpose and a copy of the advertisement.
Please submit the necessary supporting evidence for your application. Failure to provide the requested documentation may result in the assessment of your application being delayed or rejected.
If you are awarded a discount and the circumstances that led to that discount change, you must tell us.
