Summary
This page contains information on Council Tax discounts that may apply if you have two homes.
Attachments
Application form to claim for a job-related discount on a second home |(pdf file 31Kb)
If you own, or have an interest in 2 homes, you may have to pay Council Tax for both of them, unless an exemption applies.
You will have to pay Council Tax for the property which is your main home - this will usually be either 100 percent or 75 percent depending on how many people live there. But you may also have to pay for the second home.
Unfurnished Second Homes
If your second home is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished, an exemption will apply for up to six months, starting from the date the property became both unfurnished and unoccupied. When the exempt period ends, the full amount of Council Tax is payable (up to 01 April 2006, this was 50 percent).
Furnished Second Homes
If you have a second home which is substantially furnished, but is not your main home, a 90 percent Council Tax is payable (up to 01 April 2006, the amount payable for this type of property was 50 percent)
Job-related Second Homes
If you live in a property because of your job, different rules may apply.
If your main residence is somewhere else, the 'job-related' dwelling may qualify for a 50 percent discount. Or, if the 'job-related' dwelling is your main residence, your other home may qualify for a 50 percent discount.
This only applies if the dwelling is provided by your employer. Also, one of the following must apply to the 'job-related' dwelling:
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the duties of the job make it necessary for you to live there;
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or you can carry out your job better by living in the property, and it is usual for employers to provide accomodation in that type of job; or
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there is a special threat to your security, so special security arrangements have been made and you have to live in the property because of those arrangements; or
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your contract of employment requires you to live there.
Examples of where the discount might apply include:
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publicans who have their own house but their contracts say they have to live in the pub they run;
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school caretakers who have a home elsewhere but their contracts say they must live on or near the school, in accomodation provided by the employer;
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ministers of religion who have their own home but have to live in other accomodation provided by the church in order to carry out their duties as a minister.
Please note that:
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special rules apply if the employee is a director of the company which employs him and lives in a dwelling provided by the company;
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the job-related discount does not apply if a person lives in a dwelling provided by a trade or business partner;
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the job-related discount only applies where both homes concerned are in England, Scotland or Wales;
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you cannot claim Council Tax benefit for a second property.