Court Rules Landlords to Prove Tax Exemption for Empty Homes

Social landlords must show basic evidence to councils to get an exemption from council tax for empty homes, a High Court judge has ruled. The landmark judgement partially overturns a previous case from May last year, in which a tribunal ruled that councils should automatically ‘presume’ empty housing association properties are exempt from council tax. The law allows properties to be exempt from council tax if they are owned by a charity or last occupied for charitable purposes. Read more on Inside Housing.