Council Tax Explanatory Notes

Each home is placed in one of eight bands by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) based on the amount it would have sold for on 1 April 1991. Your property’s band is shown on the front of your bill. More information on valuation bands is available at voa.gov.uk

The bands are as follows:

You may be able to appeal against the valuation band, if you have become liable for the Council Tax for the property within the last six months; or, there has been a change in the building or physical state of the local area, which could affect the value of your home.

For more information visit voa.gov.uk

You must continue to pay your Council Tax in full pending any appeal decision

The person who is liable is normally the person living in the property who either owns or rents it. Couples and co-owners are jointly liable. There are some circumstances where the owner is liable which include:

• The property is a residential care home.
• The property is a house in or intended for multiple occupation
• The property is empty

Discounts

The full Council Tax charge is based upon a property being occupied by two or more adults. For Council Tax purposes an adult is classed as someone aged 18 or over. If a property is occupied by one adult, you can get a 25% discount on your Council Tax bill. For Council Tax purposes, some people are not counted when we decide how many adults are living in the property.

These people include:

• full time students, student nurses, apprentices and youth training trainees;
• patients resident in hospital;
• people being looked after in a care home;
• people who are severely mentally impaired;
• people staying in certain hospitals or night shelters;
• 18 and 19 year olds who have just left school;
• People for whom child benefit is still payable;
• carers, working for low pay (£44 per week or less), 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 headquarters;
• members of religious communities;
• foreign language assistants;
• people in detention (except those for non- payment of Council Tax or a fine)
• non-British spouse/civil partner or dependent of a student

Some occupied or unoccupied properties are exempt from Council Tax. This means there is no Council Tax to pay for a certain period.

Occupied properties are exempt in the following cases:

• halls of residence for students, dwellings occupied by students, school or college leavers or certain spouses or dependants of students
• accommodation for the UK armed forces
• members and dependants of visiting forces
• dwellings occupied only by persons under 18
• dwellings occupied by the severely mentally impaired
• dwellings which are the main residence of a person with diplomatic privilege or immunity
• occupied annexes dependant relative

Unoccupied properties are exempt in the following cases:

• properties owned by charities and used for charitable purposes for up to 6 months
• caravan pitches and moorings for boats
• the person who was liable for the Council Tax has died
• occupation is prohibited by law
• the dwelling is held for a minister of religion
• left unoccupied by a student
• in possession of the mortgagee
• left empty by a bankrupt
• an unoccupied annexe to an occupied dwelling, where the annexe cannot be let separately without breach of planning
• left empty by a person living in a hospital, hostel or care home
• left empty by a person needing personal care
• left empty by a person providing personal care

From 1 April 2014 annexes which are occupied by a relative of the person in the main house and are not exempt from Council Tax are able to apply for a 50 per cent reduction (planning restriction must apply to the annexe to prevent the property being let separately to the main property)

You will be entitled to a 50 per cent discount from your Council Tax if all the following apply, you're:

• a Ukrainian national
• in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme
• living in your own accommodation (not in your sponsors home)

We grant an automatic reduction for all care leavers aged 18-25. If this is something that applies to you and you have not been granted a reduction or to take advantage of other offers for care leavers, please contact the council

If you, or anyone who lives with you, needs a room or an extra bathroom or kitchen or space to use a wheelchair in your home, your council tax bill could be reduced.

Simply rearranging rooms (for example, having a bedroom on the ground floor rather than the first floor) is unlikely to make your home eligible for a reduction

If you have a low income, you may be able to get a reduction in your Council Tax charge through our Council Tax Reduction Scheme.  For full details and to make an application, please visit gedling.gov.uk/benefits or call 0115 901 3970

If your status alters during the year, which may affect your entitlement to a reduction or discount, you must notify the Council within 21 days of that change

Properties that are unoccupied and substantially unfurnished will receive a 100% discount for the first month. For the following 5 months a 25% discount will be applied. After 6 months the property is charged at 100% as the discount period has ended.

If a property remains unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for 1 year it will be charged a premium. The premium increases the longer the property remains unoccupied and unfurnished. Please visit Empty properties and second homes - Gedling Borough Council for more information.  

If your property is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished and you believe it to be uninhabitable, you may qualify for a maximum 12 month discount of 25%. Please email revenues@gedling.gov.uk or call 0115 901 3970 for an application form.

Properties that are unoccupied and substantially furnished are usually referred to as second homes. From 1^st April 2025 these properties receive no discount and will be charged a 100% premium (meaning the total charge will be 200% of the standard charge).

This follows a change in government legislation which grants councils the discretion to charge higher council tax to bring more empty properties back into use. There are certain circumstances where we will consider applications for exemptions where a long term unoccupied property or second home may not be required to pay a council tax premium. Please visit Empty properties and second homes - Gedling Borough Council for further information.

You can appeal if you think your bill is wrong because:

• You are not the person who should pay the Council Tax
• Your property should be exempt or you should be receiving a discount
• You are entitled to a disabled person’s reduction.
• You are not getting the right amount of Council Tax Support.

To appeal, contact us, using the address on your bill or email us at revenues@gedling.gov.uk  to explain why you feel the council's decision is wrong

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the appeal, or have not received a response to the appeal within two months, you can make a further appeal to the Valuation Tribunal

Visit valuationtribunal.gov.uk or call 0303 445 8100 for more information

Council tax is usually paid by 10 monthly instalments as shown on your bill, unless you take over the property during the year.

You can also pay your bill over 12 monthly instalments, to opt in to extended instalments, please visit gedling.gov.uk/extend

If you’re having difficulty paying your Council Tax please contact us. We can discuss your circumstance and look at any ways we can help.

There are organisations that will provide free, independent debt advice, including:

• Nottingham & District Citizens’ Advice
• StepChange

If you are a Jigsaw Homes tenant, you may seek advice from the Money Wise Team at jigsawhomes.org.uk/information-article/money-advice