Someone who is resident in a care home, hostel or hospital in England, and is receiving care or treatment there, is not liable to pay council tax. 

If there are others still living in the property

If someone in your household is admitted to a facility to receive care, they are not counted for the purposes of council tax.  Therefore you may be entitled to a discount if there are still others living in the property: 

• If a person has moved into a care home, hospital or other facility permanently, leaving just one adult in the property, you can apply for a single person discount or if the person has gone into hospital and you need to claim an exemption for them please contact us.

If you have a short stay in hospital, you aren't entitled to a discount and you must still pay your full council tax.

If the property is left unoccupied

If a property is unoccupied as the owner has been permanently admitted to a care facility the property will be exempt from paying any council tax.

You will need to provide:

• The name and contact details of the person completing the form
• The name and DOB of the owner
• The owner’s council tax account number

Apply for a discount or exemption for resident in a hospital or care home

Care home owners

An owner is liable to pay council tax on care homes and certain hostels providing care and support that are registered under the Care Standards Act 2000. 

Any patients whose main home is a care home are disregarded for discount purposes.  If all residents are disregarded the owner will be liable for 50%. The care home owner will need to:

• Confirm they are registered under the Care Standards Act 2000
• Confirm how many residents there are
• Confirm all residents are receiving personal care
• Confirm if there are any resident staff

If one or more people live in your care home but are not patients - for example they are resident staff members, or a resident proprietor (or part of their family) - then council tax will need to be paid, and you are not entitled to an discount.

Apply for a care home exemption

Exemption for a property unoccupied due to the person living elsewhere to receive care

You can only apply for this exemption if no one else has lived in the property in between. 

The person must be being cared for due to:

• Old age
• Disablement
• Illness
• Mental disorder
• Drug or alcohol dependence

You will need to provide:

• The person’s name and contact details
• The date they moved out
• Their current council tax account number
• The address they have moved to to receive care
• The level of care provided at that address
• Reason for the care and the nature of the disability/illness as mentioned in above list
• A letter or supporting documentation from the persons GP to confirm their illness/disability
• Name and address of the persons GP (we may write out for further information)

Apply for an unoccupied due to receiving care elsewhere exemption online