Council Tax Exemption (Class F)

goaty100

My mother sadly passed away earlier this year in a nursing home . Previous to this she was except from council tax due to dementia. Her house was rented for less then a year (to pay somewhat towards her care home fees) and the tenants paid CT for the period they where in there.
The tenants moved out a few weeks after she died and the property is empty now as we are waiting for probate.
The local council however state that THE FULL council tax is due on the property now and that exception F does not apply as the house had tenants in when she died.
Can anyone give me guidance as to whether this is true or not as I can’t not find anything out definitive on the Internet. Thank you.

PS I realise class C exemption no longer apply.

pmlindyloo

goaty100 wrote: »

My mother sadly passed away earlier this year in a nursing home . Previous to this she was except from council tax due to dementia. Her house was rented for less then a year (to pay somewhat towards her care home fees) and the tenants paid CT for the period they where in there.
The tenants moved out a few weeks after she died and the property is empty now as we are waiting for probate.
The local council however state that THE FULL council tax is due on the property now and that exception F does not apply as the house had tenants in when she died.
Can anyone give me guidance as to whether this is true or not as I can’t not find anything out definitive on the Internet. Thank you.

PS I realise class C exemption no longer apply.

According to everything that I have read class F exemption only applies if the person who was liable for council tax has died.

From what you have said, at the time of your mum's death the liable person was your tenant and therefore the exemption does not apply.

Did the tenants inform the council that they had vacated the property?

All councils have their own 'rules' about what council tax they charge on empty properties.

Check your local council website as some charge more than the full amount after a certain time.

What do you intend to do with the property? Can you rent it out again/someone live in it?

goaty100

Thank you pmlindyloo, that is what they are saying, she was not there when she died.


Their rules are the same as the statutory ones. I can say I am living there and get a 25% reduction (as would my husband then for living in our house then) but that's not the way I was brought up.

I am not against having to pay some council tax but feel 100% is unfair on an empty property going through probate.

CIS

The idea behind the exemption is to protect the estate temporarily whilst probate etc is being dealt with as from the date the property ceased to be tenanted the liability falls back upon the estate of a deceased person. ( The council have no powers to vary the Class F exemption)

What the council seem to have taken as the primary point is part 1(a) of the regulation - "(a)which has been unoccupied since the date of death of a person (“the deceased”);" however this goes against the usual interpretation which is read as being eligible if the property later becomes unoccupied after the date of death and the estate are still liable (incidentally this is the interpretation give in several training course I have attended).

The only real way to push the issue with the council would be to appeal to a valuation tribunal for a binding decision on the matter.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1994/539/article/4/made#text%3D%22council%20tax%22

“Class F:

(1) an unoccupied dwelling—

(a)which has been unoccupied since the date of death of a person (“the deceased”); and

(b)in relation to which one of the conditions set out in paragraph (2) below is satisfied;

(2) the conditions referred to in paragraph (1) above are, subject to paragraph (3) below, that—

(a)the deceased had, at the date of his death, a freehold interest in the dwelling, or a leasehold interest in the dwelling which was granted for a term of six months or more, and

(i)no person a qualifying person in respect of the dwelling; or

(ii)a person is a qualifying person in respect of the dwelling acting in his capacity as executor or administrator, and no person is a qualifying person in any other capacity;

or

(b)the deceased was a tenant of the dwelling at the date of his death, and an executor or administrator acting in his capacity as such is liable for rent or, as the case may be, a licence fee, for the day;

(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;”

Mersey_2

goaty100 wrote: »

Thank you pmlindyloo, that is what they are saying, she was not there when she died.


Their rules are the same as the statutory ones. I can say I am living there and get a 25% reduction (as would my husband then for living in our house then) but that's not the way I was brought up.

I am not against having to pay some council tax but feel 100% is unfair on an empty property going through probate.

Most councils have a reduction. Some have a total exemption for empty properties for eg 2 - 3 months, but almost every council is different. Some charge 100-200% on what would/may be your second property.

goaty100

Thanks for your reply. Sadly not ours. Had we left the property empty then clearly we would have been entitled to it and the council would have received nothing during this time. Yet we rented it for 10 months with the tenants paying FULL council tax.

CIS

Mersey wrote: »

Most councils have a reduction. Some have a total exemption for empty properties for eg 2 - 3 months, but almost every council is different. Some charge 100-200% on what would/may be your second property.

Strictly speaking every council has to offer a discount for an unoccupied, unfurnished property. The catch is the the legislation allows a 0% discount to be applied by the council (in some cases).

The maximum premium which can be applied for a long term empty & unfurnished property in England & Wales is 50% (giving a total charge of 150%).