The Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992
1.
F1(1)
This Order may be cited as the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 and shall come into force on 31st March 1992.
F2(2)
This Order applies in relation to England.
2.
(1)
For the purposes of this Order–
“the Act” means the Local Government Finance Act 1992;
F3“caravan” shall be construed in accordance with Part I of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960;
F4“introductory tenant” means a tenant within the meaning of Chapter I of Part V of the Housing Act 1996;
“qualifying person” means a person who would, but for the provisions of this Order, be liable for the council tax in respect of a dwelling on a particular day as the owner, whether or not jointly with any other person;
“relevant absentee” in relation to a dwelling means a person who is detained elsewhere in the circumstances mentioned in Class D(1)(a) of article 3 or who has his sole or main residence elsewhere in any of the circumstances mentioned in Class E(a), Class I(a) or Class J(a) of that article;
F5“relevant Ukrainian person” means a person—
(a)
who holds permission to enter or to stay in the United Kingdom granted under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme route in Appendix Ukraine Scheme of the Immigration Rules; or
(b)
in respect of whom another person is eligible for a thank you payment in accordance with guidance entitled “Homes for Ukraine: Ukraine Permission Extension scheme - guidance for councils” published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 24th February 2025;
F6“secure tenant” means a tenant under a secure tenancy within the meaning of Part IV of the Housing Act 1985;
F7“single property” means property which would apart from the Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings) Order 1992 be one dwelling within the meaning of section 3 of the Act;
F6“statutory tenant” means a statutory tenant within the meaning of the Rent Act 1977 or the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976;
F9...
F12(2)
F13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3)
For the purposes of Classes B and F of article 3, in considering whether a dwelling has been unoccupied for any period, any one period, not exceeding six weeks, during which it was occupied shall be disregarded.
F14(3A)
For the purposes of Classes B, D, E, F, H, I, J, K, L, Q and T of article 3, in considering whether a dwelling is unoccupied, any occupation by a relevant Ukrainian person is to be disregarded.
F15(4)
For the purposes of Class W a relative shall be regarded as dependent if he is—
(a)
aged 65 years or more, or
(b)
severely mentally impaired with the meaning given in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the Act, or
(c)
substantially and permanently disabled (whether by illness, injury, congenital deformity or otherwise).
F16(5)
For the purposes of Class W a person is to be regarded as the relative of another if—
(a)
he is the spouse F17or civil partner of that person, or
(b)
he is that person’s parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, great-uncle, great-aunt, great-nephew or great-niece, or
(c)
he is that person’s great-great-grandparent, great-great-grandchild, great-great-uncle, great-great-aunt, great-great-nephew or great-great-niece;
and—
(i)
a relationship by marriage F18or civil partnership shall be treated as a relationship by blood;
F19(ii)
a relationship between two persons living together as if they were a married couple or civil partners shall be treated as a relationship by marriage or civil partnership;
(iii)
the stepchild of a person shall be treated as his child F20and
(iv)
the child of the civil partner of a person (here “A”) shall be treated as A’s child.
F522.
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3.
A dwelling is an exempt dwelling for the purposes of section 4 of the Act on a particular day if on that day it falls within one of the following classes–
Class A: | F21... |
Class B: | a dwelling owned by a body established for charitable purposes only, which is unoccupied and has been so for a period of less than 6 months F22... and was last occupied in furtherance of the objects of the charity; |
Class C: | F23. . . |
Class D: | (1) an unoccupied dwelling which either—
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(2) for the purposes of paragraph (1) above, a dwelling shall be regarded as unoccupied if its only occupant or occupants are persons detained elsewhere in the circumstances there mentioned; | |
Class E: | an unoccupied dwelling which was previously the sole or main residence of F26a person who is an owner or tenant of the dwelling and who—
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F29Class F: | (1) an unoccupied dwelling—
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(2) the conditions referred to in paragraph (1) above are, subject to paragraph (3) below, that—
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(3) sub-paragraph (a)(ii) and (b) of paragraph (2) above shall only apply, in a case where a grant of probate or letters of administration has been made, if less than six months have elapsed since the date of the grant; | |
F30Class G: | an unoccupied dwelling—
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Class H: | an unoccupied dwelling which is held for the purpose of being available for occupation by a minister of any religious denomination as a residence from which to perform the duties of his office; |
F31Class I: | an unoccupied dwelling which was previously the sole or main residence of a person who is an owner or tenant of the dwelling and who—
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Class J: | an unoccupied dwelling which was previously the sole or main residence of F33a person who is an owner or tenant of the dwelling and who—
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F34Class K: | an unoccupied dwelling—
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Class L: | an unoccupied dwelling where a mortgagee is in possession under the mortgage; |
Class M: | a dwelling comprising a hall of residence provided predominantly for the accommodation of students which is either—
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F37Class N: | (1) a dwelling which is either—
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(2) for the purposes of paragraph (1)—
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Class O: | a dwelling of which the Secretary of State for Defence is the owner, held for the purposes of armed forces accommodation F43other than accommodation for visiting forces within the meaning of Part I of the Visiting Forces Act 1952. |
F44Class P: | (1) a dwelling in respect of which at least one person, who would be liable to pay council tax but for this article, satisfies the condition set out in paragraph (2); |
(2) the condition referred to in paragraph (1) is that the person has a relevant association, within the meaning of Part I of the Visiting Forces Act 1952, with a body, contingent or detachment of the forces of a country, to which any provision in that Part applies on that day. | |
F45Class Q: | an unoccupied dwelling in relation to which a person is a qualifying person in his capacity as a trustee in bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Act 1914 or the Insolvency Act 1986. |
F46Class R: | a dwelling consisting of a pitch or a mooring which is not occupied by a caravan or, as the case may be, a boat. |
F47Class S: | dwelling occupied only by a person or persons aged under 18 F48or one or more such persons together with one or more relevant Ukrainian persons. |
Class T: | an unoccupied dwelling which—
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F49Class U: | (1) a dwelling occupied only—
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(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) above—
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F51Class V: | (1) a dwelling in respect of which at least one person, who would be liable to pay council tax but for this class, satisfies the conditions set out in paragraphs (2) and (3); |
(2) the condition referred to in paragraph (1) is that the person—
and is not—
| |
(3) the condition referred to in paragraph (1) is that there is no other dwelling in the United Kingdom which is the main residence of that person, or is the main residence within the United Kingdom of that person; | |
Class W: | a dwelling which forms part of a single property including at least one other dwelling and which is the sole or main residence of a dependent relative of a person who is resident in that other dwelling, or as the case may be, one of those other dwellings. |
F533.
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This order concerns exemptions from liability for the council tax payable from 1st April 1993 under the Local Government Finance Act 1992. The order prescribes classes of dwellings for which no council tax is payable.
The classes relate to unoccupied dwellings–
which have been recently erected or to which works have been carried out (Class A);
which have been unoccupied for less than 6 months (Classes B and C);
which are the homes of people living or detained elsewhere in specified circumstances (Classes D, E and I);
where someone has died (Class F);
where occupation is prohibited (Class G);
which are being kept for occupation for ministers of religion (Class H);
which are the homes of people resident elsewhere to take care of others (Class J);
which are the homes of students resident elsewhere for the purposes of their studies (Class K);
which are in the possession of a mortgagee (Class L).
An occupied dwelling is exempt if it is a hall of residence (Class M), wholly occupied by students (Class N), or if it is part of armed forces accommodation (Class O).