Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Elderly parents
Original poster

Care home and council tax

19 replies

Okitsme · 27/03/2025 08:54

My DMIL has been in a home since January, first for respite but then full time as she felt she couldn’t cope at home.
The insurance company has been informed and that is sorted out but we now have to look at her council tax. She is self funding but doesn’t need to sell yet- she is suffering from dementia and gets upset if this is mentioned. Does she have to pay council tax on her home? Looking at the Citizens Advice Bureau my DH and I think not but my DSIL is not convinced. Having spent 55 minutes on the phone yesterday waiting for someone to be available I thought I’d take a short cut and ask you wonderful people!

OP posts:
Theeyeballsinthesky · 27/03/2025 08:57

Try calling age Uk for advice.
when it comes to older ppl they are just as good as citizens advice

www.ageuk.org.uk/services/information-advice/

TooManyNiblings · 27/03/2025 09:00

Who were you on hold too? I would have thought the most obvious people to ask are her council who she pays the tax too?

Mindymomo · 27/03/2025 09:08

It will depend on which Council but on ours it says there’s no CT to pay if resident is in a care home. You may be better trying to get through to Council by email or web chat, as so many employees work from home.

Fictionreader100 · 27/03/2025 09:11

Not the same , but when my mum died and I informed her local council ( this was 10 years ago , so might have changed now ) from memory there was no council tax to pay whilst her house was empty .
I think this was for a set period of maybe 6 or 12 months.
I also think different councils have their own rules so asking on here you could be different answers .

Fictionreader100 · 27/03/2025 09:14

I've just googled this but as I said above , best to check out their council .

Can care home residents get a council tax exemption?
A council tax exemption means the whole property is excluded from council tax and so there is no charge to pay.
If you are wondering what happens to council tax when someone moves into a care home, council tax is not charged if you have moved into a care home long-term and your property is left empty.

Your property will usually be exempt from Council Tax when it is unoccupied because you have moved into either a residential care home, nursing home, hospital or hostel in which you are receiving care or treatment and it is now your main residence.
However, if someone moves into your property, (e,g, family), while you are living in a care home, they will have to pay council tax on the property

EmotionalBlackmail · 27/03/2025 12:40

Double check with the council, ours has restricted the period of no payment when it's empty to six months max (depending on the reason) and then increased it to double council tax if empty for a longer period of time as they want to encourage houses to be in use rather than standing empty.

RedCatBlueCatYellowCat · 27/03/2025 13:05

Depends on the council.
Your best bet is to phone them.

LostInTheSystem101 · 27/03/2025 13:08

My grandmother got a 100% CT discount which was backdated to the date of her dementia diagnosis - she was still living at home at this point. When she went into care, that discount continued as she was still classed as the homeowner. That is Dover District Council. They were really helpful.

luckylavender · 27/03/2025 13:56

There's a whole Martin Lewis thing about not paying CT if you have Alzheimer's

Feelingstrange2 · 27/03/2025 14:02

I thought it had changed? The nurse said so when Dad was diagnosed. I thinknshe said because he had a 25 percent discount that was the maximum

DrPrunesqualer · 27/03/2025 14:03

There’s no council tax to pay on her home if she’s moved into a care home and if she moves back to her own property and has been diagnosed with dementia she will also be exempt.

If you DMIL stays in the care home and keeps her old house for a while she will be liable to Capital Gains Tax ( minus Private Residents Relief ) when it’s eventually sold though.

Original poster
Okitsme · 27/03/2025 14:08

Thanks all, we are going to contact her council as everywhere seems to be different.

OP posts:
MichaelandKirk · 27/03/2025 15:08

Late Father had 6 months at NO CT. However, can I ask. Why do your family want to hold onto it if no one is living in it and there is no chance of your Dear Mum moving back home? I had to buy Unoccupied House Insurance for my Father's house but we were in the process of selling it to fund his care costs.

The house insurance is complex and expensive. We had to turn off the water and commit to someone checking the house every week. The Estate Agent agree to do this and I was there a lot clearing out the terrible mess he had left the house in (another thread!). Professional removers took over a week to clear the house. I joke not and they said that it wasnt one of the worse that they had dealt with.

Apparently some people hoard dead animals and often parts of a house are overrun with mice and rats.

Original poster
Okitsme · 27/03/2025 15:30

The house will have to be sold eventually but it’s all very emotive at the moment.
It seems that we just need to apply to the council and she shouldn’t have to pay.
shes in London and her room is £1000 a week more expensive that the most expensive one near us so every penny helps.

OP posts:
BearPear · 27/03/2025 15:46

It’s a Class E exemption, presumably the property is empty? If so should be fully exempt.

Whichpartyoutfit · 28/03/2025 23:28

You mentioned she has dementia - there's a chance she shouldn't be paying Council Tax at all. My DGM had a refund for a year's payments dating back to her diagnosis as she had still been paying.

Councils are changing a lot of the discounts on empty properties (second homes etc) due to budget pressures, but an empty property due to someone being in a care home is still likely to be exempt.

You'll need to speak to the council she pays her CT to, but also worth also checking if she's owed a rebate due to her having dementia.

MichaelandKirk · 30/03/2025 19:02

I haven’t heard of someone not having to pay CT because they have dementia although different councils seem to do what they like these days.

Are you saying they have moved out already into a care home?

Theeyeballsinthesky · 30/03/2025 19:18

Depends on their circumstances ie if they live alone or not

www.gov.uk/council-tax/discounts-for-disabled-people

TidyDancer · 30/03/2025 19:23

The dementia/Alzheimer's discount is under the ‘severe mental impairment’ exemption. I don’t know how every council operates but at mine this ceases to be applicable if the property is no longer occupied by the person with the SMI. There is no longer an exemption for empty homes but there may well be one for homes that are unoccupied due to the resident moving permanently into care. It is not always easy to work out what’s applicable. You need a sympathetic advisor at the council who is willing to walk you through the whole thing I think. It’s a shame there isn’t a uniform policy on this across all councils.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page