Council Tax Exempt Dwellings

Some dwellings are exempt, including:

• properties occupied only by students
• properties occupied only by severely mentally impaired people
• properties occupied only by under 18 year olds
• properties occupied by diplomats

• are unfurnished (exempt for up to six months)
• are owned by a charity (exempt for up to six months)
• require or are undergoing or have undergone structural alteration or major repair (including structural repair) to render them habitable (exempt for up to 6 months after the work has been completed or, with effect from 1 April 2000, a maximum of 12 months)
• are left empty by someone who has gone into prison, or who has moved to receive personal care in a hospital or a home or elsewhere
• are left empty by someone who has moved in order to provide personal care to another person
• are owned by a student who last lived there
• are waiting for probate or letters of administration to be granted (and for up to six months after)
• have been repossessed
• are the responsibility of a bankrupt's trustee
• are empty because their occupation is forbidden by law
• are waiting to be occupied by a minister of religion
• are annexes of a main property which cannot be let separately for planning reasons
• are annexes of a main property and are occupied by an elderly or disabled relative.