Exemptions and empty property discounts

Some properties are exempt from council tax.

The different classes of exemption are listed below.

Properties that are lived in only by:

full time students (they must send us a council tax exemption certificate or student certificate from their place of study, unless studying at Nottingham University or Nottingham Trent University as they provide us with a list of full time students);
severely mentally impaired people;
foreign diplomats;
people who are under 18;
members of visiting forces; or
people who occupy dwellings as a granny annexe.

are not furnished and need structural alteration or major repair work to make them suitable to live in. The exemption will apply for six months after the work is done if the property remains unoccupied and unfurnished. From April 2000 the government has set a 12 month limit on this exemption, regardless of whether the work has been finished (after that there is a 50% discount available up to 31 March 2005, which then reduces to a 25% discount from 1 April 2005 and from 1 April 2007 no discount is available and the full charge is due). Please note that this exemption will be removed from 31 March 2013. However a 25% discount will be available in these circumstances.
are owned by a charity, are exempt for up to six months;
are left empty by someone who has moved to receive care in a hospital or home elsewhere;
are left empty by someone who has gone into prison;
are left empty by someone who has moved so they can care for someone else;
are waiting for probate (proof that a will is valid) to be granted, and for six months after probate is granted;
have been repossessed;
are the responsibility of a bankrupt's trustee;
are waiting for a minister of religion to move in;
are left empty by a student whose term-time address is elsewhere;
are empty because it is against the law to live there;
form part of another property and may not be let separately; or
A pitch or mooring that doesn't have a caravan or boat on it is also exempt.

If you feel you are entitled to an exemption, please phone the council tax office and we may be able to give you an exemption straight away.