Apply for Council Tax discounts and exemptions

You may be entitled to a discount on the amount of Council Tax you pay or you may even be exempt from it and not have to pay any Council Tax.  

Council Tax discounts 

A full Council Tax bill is based on 2 adults living in the property.

However, this may not be the case and you may be living on your own and could be eligible for a single person's discount which would reduce your Council Tax bill by 25%.

There could also be other reasons why you may be eligible for a discount on the full Council Tax bill.

Some people will not be counted as residents if they are:

• full time students, student nurses, apprentices or youth training trainees
• patients resident in hospital
• being looked after in a care home
• people with learning disabilities
• people staying in certain hostels or night shelters
• 18 and 19 year olds who are at, or have just left college
• care workers working on low pay (usually for charities
• caring for someone with a disability (who is not a spouse, partner or child under 18)
• members of visiting forces and certain international institutions
• members of religious communities
• in prison
• suffering from a severe mental impairment

Complete our online form which lists the discounts you could apply for.

Apply for Council Tax discount 

 

Care leavers and foster care discount/exemption

With effect from October 2017 Redbridge introduced two new Council Tax Reductions.

Up until 31 March 2020, our registered foster carers are entitled to receive a 60% discount.

From the 1 April 2020, our registered foster carers receive a twice-yearly bonus payment up to the value of 80% of the Council Tax they have paid in the previous 6 months. 

Care Leavers will be exempt until they turn 25 years of age, for more information and to apply, please email RLCDuty1@barnardos.org.uk

Discounts for disabled people

If you or another adult living in the property have a disability, you may be eligible for a reduction to your Council Tax. 

You’ll have to show that you’ve either:

• an extra bathroom, kitchen or other room that you need for the disabled person
• extra space inside the property for using a wheelchair

The property must be the main home of at least 1 disabled person. This can be an adult or a child - it doesn’t have to be the person responsible for paying the Council Tax.

Apply for the discount

Call us on 020 8708 5670 or print the application form (PDF 116KB)

• the first two pages of the application form should be completed by the applicant and the
• third and fourth pages the declaration, by a professional person aware of the situation ie doctor, social worker, nurse.

Council Tax exemptions for empty properties

Some empty properties are exempt from Council Tax for a short amount of time or indefinitely.

Find out if you:  

• have a property that is exempt from paying Council Tax
• how long the exemption will last  

There will be no discount available for furnished or unfurnished empty properties and second homes.

In addition to this, any empty substantially unfurnished property vacant for longer than two years will be charged a 50% premium in addition to the full Council Tax up until 31/3/2019

A recent amendment to legislation allows for the premium to be increased and so from 1/4/2019 the premium will be 100% for properties empty for more than two years.

This will increase further from 1/4/2020 when properties left empty for more than 5 years will have a premium levied of 200% and from 1/4/2021 the premium will be 300% for properties left empty for more than 10 years. 

This is intended to stop properties remaining unoccupied and so support the Council's objectives of increasing the availability of housing. 

Check empty properties exemption

If the property forms part of the estate of a liable person (or person liable to pay Council Tax) who has died

The exemption is for up to 6 months after the grant of probate or letters of administration have been issued and the property is left unoccupied.

Exempt while the property remains unoccupied by:

Student owner

The owner is a student who last lived in the property as their main home.

People in prison

The property has been left unoccupied by people who are in prison (except for non-payment of a fine or Council Tax). The property must have been their main home immediately before they went into prison.

People moved into care home, hospital or receiving personal care

Property is unoccupied due to the Council Tax payer moving to receive personal care in a hospital, care home or hostel. Please print of the application form (pdf 187KB), complete and return to us at:  Lynton House, 255-259 High Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1NN or email to  council.tax@redbridge.gov.uk.

If the liable person has moved to receive care elsewhere please email the details to  council.tax@redbridge.gov.uk

Annexes

Annexes, which cannot be let separately from the main property without breaching planning conditions.

Repossessed property and bankruptcy

Where the person liable to pay Council Tax has been declared bankrupt or where the property has been repossessed.

Compulsory purchase

The property is unoccupied due to a compulsory purchase order or a judgement has been made in law that forbids anyone to live there.

Vicarages and other religious property

Vicarages and similar properties that are temporarily unoccupied until a religious official such as a Priest, Nun or similar move in and from where they will perform their religious duties.

Repossessed properties

Properties that have been taken into repossession by a mortgage lender.

Unoccupied and unfurnished properties

Exemption for Class C properties has been abolished and the full Council Tax is payable.

Uninhabitable properties

Exemption for Class A properties has been abolished and the full Council Tax is payable.

Empty and substantially unfurnished properties

We can levy an empty homes premium on properties that have stood empty and are substantially unfurnished for more than 2 years; these properties will be subject to a 150% Council Tax charge.

Second homes

No discount available.

Apply for an empty property exemption

Please email council.tax@redbridge.gov.uk with details of your Council Tax number, contact details and what empty property exemption you want to apply for.

You will have to pay the amount on your Council Tax bill until we have made a decision on your claim for an exemption.

Will I get a bill for an exempt property?

Yes, you will receive a bill and it will give you details of the exemption your property falls into.

It will also tell you of the valuation band the property has been placed in and what the Council Tax would be if the property were not exempt.

If you know your property shouldn’t be exempt, but it currently is, you must tell us right away. If you don’t you will receive a fine.