What to do with Council Tax when someone dies

An empty property is exempt where the liability for Council Tax would fall to the estate of a deceased person.

Where the person who passed away lived on their own, the property is exempt from Council Tax payments for as long as it remains unoccupied and until probate is granted. This means that you do not need to pay Council Tax for that period.

This exemption does not apply if:

• there is a joint owner or tenant of the property
• the property is signed over directly to beneficiaries

The exemption will end if the property:

• becomes occupied (unless occupation is temporary for less than 6 weeks)
• is sold
• is rented out (re-let)
• has not been sold or re-let 6 months after the grant of probate/letters of administration

If you are a landlord and your property is left empty after a tenant passed away, the property is exempt from the date of death until the date that the tenancy ends.

You will need to let us know if the property is sold, rented out or becomes occupied.

To apply for the exemption you will need to email the below information to [email protected]:

• the full name of the deceased
• date of death
• the details of any Solicitors/Executor or person dealing with the estate

We also need to confirm if the property is furnished or unfurnished along with the date any furniture was removed.