Empty property charges
From April 1st 2023, all empty and unfurnished properties will no longer receive a 100% discount to their council tax charge for a period of one month.
There will also no longer be a 50% reduction in council tax liability for properties that are undergoing renovations that render them uninhabitable.
Long Term Empty and Second Home Premiums
From the 1st April 2024, the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, allows councils to apply a premium on homes which have been empty for 1 or more years. It also allows councils to charge premiums on second homes from the 1st of April 2025.
As agreed at full council on the 21st of February 2024, properties that have been empty for between 1 and 5 years will be subject to a 100% premium on top of the standard council tax charge. Empty dwellings are those that are unoccupied and substantially unfurnished. This premium will increase over time.
• 100% for homes empty between 1 and 5 years
• 200% for homes empty between 5 and 10 years
• 300% for homes empty for over 10 years
Second homes will be subject to a 100% premium on top of the standard council tax charge, but this will not increase over time. A second home is a property which is substantially furnished but is not used as a person’s sole or main place of residence.
Exceptions to the premium are –
Classes of Dwellings – Application – Definition
Class E – Long-term empty homes and second homes – dwelling which is or would be someone’s sole or main residence if they were not residing in job-related armed forces accommodation
Class F Long-term empty homes and second homes – annexes forming part of, or being treated as part of, the main dwelling
Class G Long-term empty homes and second homes – dwellings being actively marketed for sale (12 months limit)
Class H Long-term empty homes and second homes – dwellings being actively marketed for let (12 months limit)
Class I Long-term empty homes and second homes – unoccupied dwellings which fell within exempt Class F and where probate has recently been granted (12 months from grant of probate/letters of administration)
Class J Second homes only – job related dwellings
Class K Second homes only – occupied caravan pitches and boat moorings.
Class L Second homes only – seasonal homes where year-round, permanent occupation is prohibited, specified for use as holiday accommodation or planning condition preventing occupancy for more than 28 days continuously
If you think that your property falls into any of these classes please email us at localtax@wealden.gov.uk
The council’s decision to introduce premiums for empty dwellings after 1 year and premiums for second homes, was published on the 8th of March 2024 in both the Sussex Express and the Kent and Sussex Courier.
View more information on the decision to introduce premiums on long term empty and second homes
Council Tax Discounts
There are a number of discounts that may be available for Council Tax, details of which can be found below.
If you are currently in receipt of a discount and your circumstances have changed, you must notify the Council Tax team within 21 days of the change. If you fail to tell us, you may be liable for a penalty.
If you are on a low income you may be able to get Council Tax Reduction. Even if you have any of the discounts below, you can still apply for Council Tax Reduction.
Use our benefit calculator to see if you potentially eligible for any financial assistance.
There are various discounts that can reduce the Council Tax you have to pay and are separate from Council Tax Benefit/Support.
The Council Tax charge is based on two or more adults living in a property. If only one adult lives in a property as their main home, there is a reduction of one quarter (25%). For substantially unfurnished homes, long term empty homes and properties that are furnished second homes, there is no discount.
If you don’t live alone you could still claim a discount if the other adults are not counted for council tax purposes when we calculate the bill, we would call this a “disregard discount”. Further information on disregard discount categories can be found below.
If you think that you should be entitled to a single person discount you can complete our online single person discount form .
If your bill shows that a discount has been awarded, you must tell the Council of any change in circumstances that affects your entitlement.
Disabled relief is available to council taxpayers if their property contains a special feature, such as an extra room or bathroom, which is there for the needs of a disabled person that lives in their home, or where there is space to use a wheelchair indoors.
The reduction is equivalent to the property being put in the next lower council tax valuation band. If you think that you may be entitled to disabled relief reduction you should contact the Council Tax team.
Where child benefit remains payable for a time after a young person becomes 18 they will be disregarded for council tax purposes until entitlement to child benefit ends. If the young person is also a school or college leaver, the disregard may continue until the 1st November, in the year that they leave.
A student is a person (of any age) enrolled on a full-time course of further education at a prescribed educational establishment or a person under the age of 20 enrolled on certain qualifying courses defined in the Council Tax regulations. A full-time course must last for at least one academic year and require a minimum of 21 hours per week of study.
If you are studying for a qualification up to A level and you are under 20, your course must last at least 3 months and involve at least 12 hours of study per week.
A student nurse is a person following a course leading to registration under the Nurses, Midwives, and Health Visitors Act 1979.
An apprentice is someone, regardless of age, employed for the purpose of learning a trade or profession, who is paid less than £195 per week and is undertaking a training programme leading to an accredited qualification.
A YT trainee is a person aged under 25 who is undertaking an approved training scheme recognised by the Department of Work & Pensions (DWS)
Providing care for a person living in the same household who receives certain specified state benefits but who is not a spouse or a dependant child of the carer.
People who have their main place of residence in a National Health Service hospital. This does not include temporary hospital stay.
People who are temporarily resident in a hostel for the homeless.
A member of a religious community where the principal occupation is prayer, contemplation, education or the relief of suffering.
A person not a British Citizen, who is the spouse or dependant of a student and is not permitted to work or obtain benefits.
A person living in a residential care home, nursing home, mental nursing home or hostel who is receiving care or treatment in the home.
A person who is detained by order of a court, whether they are in prison, hospital or any other place. This does not include a person who is in police custody, until they are remanded in custody by a court.
Providing care through a connection with a local authority or a charity for at least 24 hours per week for pay of £44 a week or less and living at or near where the care is provided.
Permanent impairment of intelligence and social functioning (certified by a doctor) and in receipt of specified state benefits.
A member or dependant of a member, of a visiting force from a nation included under the Visiting Forces Act 1952.