How to Notify Your Council About a Care Home Admission for Council Tax

One of the biggest misconceptions about council tax after a care home admission is that someone else handles it. Families assume the care home tells the council, or the GP tells the council, or the social worker triggers an automatic update. None of that happens. Social care teams and revenue departments within the same local authority do not routinely share data, and the care home has no obligation to notify anyone about council tax.

If you do not tell the revenues department, the bill keeps running at the full rate — and the first you hear about it may be a reminder notice or a summons months later.

What to Tell the Council

Contact the billing authority for the area where the property is located (not the area where the care home is). You need the revenues department, sometimes called council tax billing or local taxation. Write to them or use their online form with the following information:

• The council tax account number (on the most recent demand notice)
• The name of the person who has moved into care
• The address of the property left empty
• The name and address of the care home
• The date of permanent admission
• Whether anyone else still lives at the property

If you hold a Lasting Power of Attorney or Court of Protection deputyship, include a copy. Without formal authority, some councils will accept notification from a close family member but may not process changes until they receive proof of authority.

When to Notify

As soon as the admission becomes permanent. You do not need to wait for a care needs assessment to conclude, a financial assessment to finish or the property to be cleared. The exemption runs from the date the person's sole or main residence shifted to the care home, and notifying the council promptly prevents a backlog of charges building up.

If the stay started as respite or a temporary hospital admission and later became permanent, notify the council once the decision is made that the person will not return home. The council can backdate the exemption to the date the stay became permanent.

What Evidence to Send with the Notification

Sending evidence upfront avoids a round of follow-up requests that can delay the exemption by weeks. The core documents are:

1. A letter from the care home confirming the person's name, the admission date and that the placement is permanent
2. The property's current status — confirm it is unoccupied and no one else has moved in
3. Your relationship and authority — a brief explanation of who you are and, if applicable, a copy of the LPA

Some councils have their own exemption form (online or downloadable). If they do, complete it and attach the care home letter. If no dedicated form exists, a written request to the revenues department is sufficient.

What Happens After You Notify

If the council grants Class E, it should issue a revised demand notice showing a zero balance from the applicable entitlement date: when the move became permanent, or the admission date if permanent residence was intended from the outset. If you have already paid council tax for the exempt period, the overpayment should appear as a credit on the account or be refunded to the account holder or registered representative.

Processing times vary, typically from two to eight weeks. If the council refuses the claim or does not resolve it, send a formal written grievance under Section 16 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. The council has two calendar months to respond. File a Valuation Tribunal for England appeal within two months of a refusal, or within four months of the grievance if the council does not respond.

Do Not Forget Other Changes

A care home admission often triggers multiple council tax changes at once. If a partner still lives in the property, they may qualify for a single person discount. If the property is also subject to an empty home premium (from a previous period of vacancy), the Class E exemption removes that premium. And if the care resident was previously receiving a disabled band reduction or Council Tax Reduction, those may need to be closed or transferred.

The Council Tax Care Home Claim Guide includes a first-week notification checklist that covers all the council tax changes triggered by a care home admission, with the evidence documents and template letters to handle them in one go.

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