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Discounts

Discount Review 2023

If you have recieved a questionnaire with your Council Tax Bill asking you to confirm that you are entitled to a Single Resident Discount, please complete the form found on the Discount Review Page

Discounts

Your Council Tax Bill assumes that two or more adults aged 18 or over, live in the property as their main home.  If you are a single resident or if we can disregard you or any other residents, we may be able to award a discount.

Single residents

If you are the only adult resident and the property is your main home, you may be entitled to a Single Resident Discount and your bill reduced by 25%.  If you wish to claim a Single Resident Discount, please complete this online form.

If someone else aged over 18, moves in while you are in receipt of a Single Resident Discount, you must inform us immediately. We will take legal action against anyone who fraudulently claims a discount or exemption and we review your entitlement regularly and check information with other agencies for comparison purposes.

Care Leavers

Care leavers aged between 18 and 25 and where a local authority in England has acted previously as a corporate parent, will be entitled to their Council Tax being treated as irrecoverable in full or in part, if they pay Council Tax or live with someone who pays Council Tax in Fareham since 1 April 2019.

To qualify for this reduction the Care Leaver must:

The reduction in Council Tax will be granted after any entitlement to other appropriate Legislative discounts or exemptions have been awarded (this may include Council Tax Support, single resident Discount or relevant disregards). 

Unoccupied properties

Unoccupied for up to 24 months

From 1 April 2020 we will no longer offer any discounts on properties which are unoccupied and unfurnished, the full Council Tax will become payable from the first date that the property becomes unoccupied (unless the empty property is a pitch occupied by a caravan or mooring occupied by a boat, in which case, a 50% discount will apply).

Up to 31 March 2020 we offered a discount for up to 1 month from the first day that a property becomes unoccupied & unfurnished, but in all cases this discount will not extend beyond 31 March 2020.  (The commencement date of this period of discount is not reset by a change of property ownership or a change of the liable party for Council Tax.  The discount will terminate when the property is furnished or reoccupied).

Unoccupied in excess of 24 months

If your property remains unoccupied & unfurnished for more than 24 months, a Long Term Empty Premium applies in addition to the full Council Tax due on the property:

Property that requires major works

From 1 April 2020 we will no longer offer any discounts on properties which are unoccupied and unfurnished and require or are undergoing major works or structural alteration to render them habitable.

Up to 31 March 2020, this discount will be 50% for any period of up to 12 months (in all cases this discount will not extend beyond 31 March 2020).

When determining if major works have taken place or are required, in general terms, we do not consider the replacement of kitchens, bathrooms, heating and items undertaken in isolation (such as a rewiring) as major works.  We inspect all properties in this class of discount and seek evidence of the works undertaken.

Second homes

We charge the full Council Tax on all second homes (a second home is a furnished property, which is not anyone's sole or main residence).

Job related dwellings

A 50 percent discount may be awarded for properties classed as second homes which are occupied as job-related dwellings or retained because you live in a property classed as a job-related dwelling. The discount may be awarded if at least one of the following criteria is met:

Annexes occupied by family members

We are able to award a 50% discount if you have an annexe which is lived in by a family member providing that they are related to the person liable to pay the Council Tax for the main dwelling.  The discount also applies for people living in dwellings with annexes which are unoccupied, provided they are using those annexes as part of their main residence. If you want to apply for a reduction on this basis, please complete this application form.

Annexes are exempt from Council Tax if occupied by dependant relatives or where vacant and occupancy is restricted by planning permission.

For further information please contact the Council Tax office on Tel: 01329 824651, or email counciltax@fareham.gov.uk.




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Fareham Borough Council, Civic Offices, Civic Way, Hampshire, PO16 7AZ
Tel: +44 (0) 1329 236100 | Mobile Text/Photo: 07860 098627
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