Do You Pay Council Tax in a Care Home?

The Short Answer

No — you should not be paying council tax on a property left empty after someone moves permanently into a care home. Under The Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, the vacant property qualifies for a Class E exemption, which reduces the council tax bill to zero for as long as the home remains unoccupied and the person in care is still the owner or tenant.

The catch is that councils do not apply this automatically. You have to tell them, provide evidence of the permanent move, and formally request the exemption. Families who don't know about Class E can end up paying full council tax on an empty house for months or years.

How Class E Works When Someone Enters a Care Home

Class E applies when all three conditions are met:

• The person has moved their sole or main residence to a care home, nursing home, NHS hospital, independent hospital, or a qualifying hostel providing accommodation for people requiring specialist care or support
• The property they left behind is unoccupied — nobody else lives there as their main home
• The person is still the owner or tenant of the empty property

Once Class E is granted, the property is completely exempt. The council tax bill drops to zero and no demand notice can be issued. It also means the property is immune from the empty home premium — so even if the house sits empty for years while awaiting sale, the council cannot charge 100%, 200%, or 300% surcharges while the exemption is active.

What If Other People Still Live There?

If a spouse, partner, or other adult still lives in the property, it is not unoccupied — so Class E does not apply. Instead, the person in the care home is "disregarded" under Schedule 1, Paragraph 7 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Disregarded means they no longer count as a resident for council tax purposes. If that leaves one non-disregarded adult in the property, it qualifies for a 25% Single Person Discount. If all remaining adults are also disregarded (for example, a severely mentally impaired person), the discount can reach 50%.

Nursing Homes Count the Same as Care Homes

There is no legal distinction between a care home and a nursing home for council tax purposes. Both are regulated facilities providing accommodation with personal care under the Care Standards Act 2000. Whether the placement involves residential care, nursing care, or both, Class E applies the same way.

What About Temporary Stays?

A temporary hospital admission, short respite stay, or trial period in a care home does not trigger Class E. During temporary stays, the person's sole or main residence is still their original home in law. The exemption only starts from the date the move becomes permanent — either when the care home agreement transitions from short-stay to permanent, or when medical assessments confirm a return home is no longer possible.

If a parent went into hospital first and then moved to a care home, the Class E start date is the date their permanent residence shifted, which may be backdated to the original hospital admission if permanent placement was intended from the outset.

What You Need to Do

The council will not apply Class E on its own. You need to:

1. Contact the billing authority's council tax department and report the care move
2. Submit the care home admission letter or agreement confirming permanent status and the exact move date
3. Complete whatever exemption application form the council provides — there is no national standard form, so each council's process differs
4. Keep a record of the submission date, reference number, and the name of anyone you speak to

There is no national processing deadline for a Class E application; check your billing authority's estimate. If you have been paying full council tax since the care admission, the council must backdate the exemption to the actual move date. There is no statutory time limit on how far back a Class E exemption can be applied — if the move happened three years ago and nobody claimed, the council should still adjust the account and refund the overpayment.

Getting It Right the First Time

The Council Tax Care Home & Hospital Claim Guide walks through the entire process from start to finish — which exemption class applies to your situation, what evidence the council needs, how to request backdated relief, and what to do if the council refuses. It includes printable checklists and a claim tracker so nothing falls through the cracks during what is already a stressful time.

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