Tell us someone has died

You must report the death of a Council Tax payer, or the death of another adult member of a household.

If there were two adults in the property

If you lived with the person who has died and you are now the only adult in the household you could claim a discount. We will update the details so the account is in your name only. We will then apply the 25% single person discount to your account. Please complete the single person discount form providing as much detail as possible.

Apply for single person discount

We will send you a new bill confirming the change, unless we need to contact you for more information.

If there were more than two adults in the property

Sometimes more than two adults occupy the property and one person has died. If so, we will transfer the Council Tax account into the names of the remaining owners or occupiers.

You can register the death using the Government's 'Tell Us Once' service. Read more about Tell Us Once.

We will send a new bill with the updated names, unless we need to contact you for more information.

If the person who died lived alone

When only one person occupies a property, the property is exempt from Council Tax as long as it remains unoccupied and probate is not yet granted.

Following the grant of probate, a further six months' exemption is possible, as long as the property remains unoccupied and is not sold or transferred to someone else.

The executor(s) must tell us the date probate is granted, details of the transfer or sale of the property, or the end date of the tenancy.

If it was a rental property, the 100% exemption will last until the date the tenancy ends or for six months after the grant of probate - whichever comes first.

For unoccupied properties where the owner dies, the 100% exemption will apply until the date probate is granted and for a further six months after grant of probate or the property becomes occupied.

If the owner dies while the property is occupied by other people and the property then becomes empty, this exemption will not apply.

Overpayment

Once you have told us the details, we will send a revised bill.

Your bill will tell you what your new instalments will be.

If you paid by Direct Debit, we will refund any overpayment back into your bank account. Otherwise, you will receive a credit notice so you can claim a refund.