An unoccupied property may be exempt from Council Tax for a maximum of six months under Exemption Class B.
The Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) order 1992 (SI 1992 No.558), article 3, as amended by the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Amendment) order 1994 (SI 1994 No. 539), article 4a, sets out four requirements which must be met in order for a property to be eligible for a Class B exemption:
- the dwelling must be owned by a charitable organisation
- the organisation must be established for charitable purposes only
- the dwelling must have been unoccupied for a period of less than six months
- up to the date the dwelling became unoccupied it had been used for the purposes of the charity