Council Tax discount for second homes
We do not give discounts for second homes - you will need to pay a full Council Tax charge for your second home.
However, if you live in, and pay Council Tax for an additional property – for example, because it’s required under your employment contract – you may be able to claim a 50% discount.
If you spend time at more than one address we have to decide which address is your main residence.
To work out if you’re entitled to a discount we need to look into your circumstances at each address, including where you, your spouse and children live most of the time. We’ll then decide if a discount can be awarded.
How to apply
Apply online. We need to know about both properties so it would be helpful to have both Council Tax bills to hand. You will be prompted to upload copies of your bills which should not exceed 9MB in total, but you can send these at a later date if you prefer.
You’ll also need to tell us which property most of your possessions are kept, where your mail gets delivered to, which property you are registered to vote and where you’re registered for income tax purposes.
Read our privacy notice which tells you how we use your data.
What happens next?
We’ll check the details of your application and we may get in touch with other local authorities where necessary.
We aim to respond as soon as possible, but due to high demand this is currently taking longer than usual. Please do not contact us to check on progress unless you have not heard from us within three months.
Second home premium
From 1st April 2025, any home that is not your main residence, and is substantially furnished, will be charged double the amount of Council Tax you would normally pay.
There will be some exceptions to the second home premium. Find out about second home premium exceptions on GOV.UK.
Further information about the second home premium will be available nearer the time.