Property discounts and exemptions for Council Tax

Council tax for empty properties

• If your property is unoccupied and unfurnished you can get a full Council Tax discount for the first month
• Properties empty between one month and two years pay 100% council tax
• Properties empty between two and five years pay 200% council tax (100% premium)
• Properties empty for more than five years pay 300% council tax (200% premium)
• Properties empty for more than ten years pay 400% council tax (300% premium)
• Second homes pay 100% Council Tax.

There is no discount for properties that are empty due to building work.

Empty properties which are uninhabitable

There is no exemption or discount available for properties undergoing structural repair or are empty uninhabitable. 

The owner of the property can appeal to the Valuation Office Agency to request the property to be removed from the council tax listing and further information can be found on the Valuation Office Agency’s website.

Empty properties which are exempt

If you own an unoccupied property it may be exempt from Council Tax if:

• it was last used by a charity (this exemption is for up to six months)
• it was previously lived in by someone who has gone to prison
• it was lived in by someone who is now in a hospital, care or nursing home, or hostel
• it was lived in by someone who has moved to get care 
• you have moved to care for someone else
• the Council Tax payer has died and you are waiting for probate or letters of administration (this exemption is for up to six months)
• no one is allowed to live there by law
• it is being held for a Minister of Religion
• it was lived in by students (or someone who became a student within 6 weeks of leaving)
• it has been repossessed by a mortgage lender
• the Council Tax payer is a trustee in bankruptcy
• it is pitch or a mooring without a caravan or a boat
• it is an annexe which cannot be let out separately

Occupied properties which are exempt

If you own an occupied property it may be exempt from Council Tax if:

• it is a Students' halls of residence
• it is occupied only by full-time students (and their Spouses or dependants who are not EU Citizens), or school or College leavers
• it is accommodation for Armed Forces
• it the main home of a foreign diplomat
• it is occupied only by people under 18
• it is occupied only by people with severe mental impairement
• it is occupied by a dependant relative.

Apply for a property discount or exemption

You can apply using our online form.

Apply for a Council Tax discount or exemption

Alternatively you can also get this form from the Council Tax office.

Empty Homes and Second Homes Premiums

Under section 11B, 11C and 11D of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended or inserted by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023) Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council will apply the long-term empty homes premium on dwellings unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one year, rather than two.

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council will also introduce a new council tax premium of 100% on second homes (a furnished dwelling, which is no one’s main residence).

There will be some exempt categories from the premiums and further information can be found at gov.uk.

Both changes will apply from 1 April 2025.