Apply for Council Tax exemptions

If you would like a property to be considered for exemption, please complete the appropriate form from the list below and send it to us, along with any required supporting documents. For any exemptions where a form is not available, please contact us. 

If a property is exempt, it will still show on the valuation list. You will still receive a Council Tax bill, but this will show any periods of exemption. This will confirm the Council Tax band the property is in and the rate of Council Tax that would have otherwise been charged.

Available exemptions

A property that is unoccupied and owned by a body established for charitable purposes only (Exemption B)

The property is exempt for up to six months if it was last occupied in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.

An unoccupied property belonging to a prisoner (Exemption D)

This property is exempt if the sole owner or tenant is detained in prison or hospital by order of the court or detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.

A property left unoccupied by a person who is in hospital, a nursing home or a residential care home (Exemption E)

If the person is now living in a residential care home or hospital and does not intend to return home.

A property left unoccupied following the death of the Council Tax payer (Exemption F)

When a property is occupied by a single person, who either owns or rents the property, and that person dies, the property is exempt from Council Tax for as long as it remains unoccupied and until probate is granted.

Following a grant of probate or letters of administration, a further six-month exemption is possible if the property remains unoccupied and has not been sold or transferred to someone else.

If the property becomes occupied by another person for a period of 6 weeks or more and the property is their only residence, the exemption ends and will not be re-applied when they leave. If the property is occupied for less than 6 weeks it will not affect the exemption although the occupiers will have to pay Council Tax for the period that they are living in the property.

An unoccupied property that is prohibited by law from being occupied (Exemption G)

An unoccupied dwelling where the occupation is prohibited by law or kept unoccupied because of action taken under powers conferred by or under any Act of Parliament to prohibit its occupation or to acquire it. If the dwelling were occupied illegally, it would not be exempt, and the residents would be liable.

A property which is unoccupied but is being kept for a Minister of Religion (Exemption H)

The property must be held available for occupation by a Minister of any religious denomination to allow them to perform the duties of office.

A property left unoccupied by persons who reside elsewhere to receive personal care (Exemption I)

Their residence must be in another place that is not a hospital or registered care home, and they must have moved to receive personal care.

A property left unoccupied by a person who resides elsewhere because they are providing care to another (Exemption J)

Their residence must be in another place that is not a hospital or registered care home, and they must have moved to provide personal care.

A property left unoccupied by students who are residing elsewhere to study (Exemption K)

The student must be the owner or leaseholder of the property and take up education within six weeks of vacating the property.

A property which has been repossessed (Exemption L)

This applies to unoccupied dwellings where a mortgagee legally repossessed the dwelling.

Student halls of residence (Exemption M)

There are currently no such establishments within the District of North Norfolk.

A property occupied solely by students (Exemption N)

A property that one or more people occupy, and all occupants are students on a qualifying course of education.

Barracks, messes and married quarters provided by the Ministry of Defence (Exemption O)

This applies to living accommodation for UK armed forces, which is owned by the Secretary of State for Defence and must be held for armed forces accommodation.

A property occupied by members of Visiting Armed Forces (Exemption P)

The property will be exempt, where members of visiting forces would be liable for Council Tax.

A property left empty by a bankrupt person (Exemption Q)

An unoccupied furnished or unfurnished property is exempt where the liable Council Tax payer has been made bankrupt, and liability would fall to a trustee in bankruptcy.

A caravan pitch or mooring plot where the caravan or houseboat has been removed (Exemption R)

A pitch or mooring not occupied by a caravan or boat is exempt for the whole period during which it remains empty.

A property occupied solely by persons under 18 years of age (Exemption S)

When one of the under-age occupiers reaches 18, this exemption ceases.

Unoccupied annexes which are subject to a planning restriction (Exemption T)

An annexe which cannot be sold or let separately from the main dwelling without a breach of planning restrictions.

A property occupied solely by persons who are severely mentally impaired (Exemption U)

A property where all the occupiers over 18 are certified by a medical professional to have a severe mental impairment, which can include severe cases of Alzheimer's and dementia and are in receipt of a qualifying benefit.

A property occupied by Diplomats (Exemption V)

Properties where one of the liable persons is a diplomat or member of an international organisation headquartered in the UK.

Annexes which are occupied solely by dependent relatives whose relatives live in the main property (Exemption W)

An annexe occupied by a person over 65, or who is disabled and is dependent on a relatives who are residing in the main property.

Council Tax fraud

It is a criminal offence to try to avoid paying Council Tax by giving false information to the Council or by not telling them about any changes that might affect how much Council Tax you pay. If you feel that your circumstances have changed that might mean your Council Tax bill needs to be adjusted, you must contact your Council to let them know.

Examples of the different types of Council Tax fraud could include:

• claiming a single-person discount when other adults are living at the property
• claiming a student exemption when not enrolled on a course of full-time education, or not declaring that non-students are living in the property
• giving false information to claim a discount, exemption or other reduction
• not telling the Council when a discount or other reduction should be cancelled
• giving false information to avoid paying an empty or second home premium charge
• providing false or incorrect information when applying for Council Tax support
• failing to let the Council know of a change in your income or circumstances that might affect the level of support or discount you are entitled to

Where fraud is discovered, Councils will always try to get the money back and consider whether further action is appropriate. Further action could include a caution, an administrative penalty, being denied current or future reductions, or being prosecuted.

North Norfolk District Council will carry out financial checks and will contact other organisations and authorities to verify information.