Unoccupied but Furnished Properties

Where a property contains some furniture the discount will be 25%. This means that the amount you pay will be 75% of the full Council Tax.
If you are required to live in another UK property as a condition of your (or your spouse's) employment, and you are also the council taxpayer there, please contact us as we may be able to grant a 50% discount (applies to unoccupied but furnished properties only).

Unoccupied and Unfurnished Properties

A property is exempt from Council Tax (there is no tax payable) for the first 6 months that a property is unoccupied and unfurnished (if the property changes hands the next person will only be entitled to any balance of the exemption). After the 6 months exemption there is no discount - this means that the amount you pay will be 100% of the full Council Tax. If your property is currently unfurnished you can reduce your bill by moving in some furniture - a bed or put-you-up, small table and chair would suffice. Please let us know as soon as possible if you do this so that we can ensure a correct bill is sent.

Information sharing and fraud

We must protect public funds and may use the information you give us to prevent and detect fraud. We regularly check existing claims. These checks may include talking to your neighbours and other local people. We may also share information with other sections of the Council and organisations approved by the Data Protection Commissioner, including credit reference agencies for the purpose of detecting Council Tax or benefit fraud.

If you suspect someone is falsely claiming discount please complete our |Council Tax fraud notification form.