To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities allow (a) an exemption from payment of council tax on a property for six months after probate has been granted and (b) an exemption from or discount on payment of council tax on a property for six months or more following a bereavement; and what exemptions or discounts apply in each case.

Under Class F of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, dwellings left empty by the death of the owner or tenant are exempt from council tax from the date of death until up to six months after the date of a grant of probate or letters of administration have been made. Local authorities have no discretion about granting this exemption.

Where a dwelling is not left empty by the bereavement, the normal rules for council tax would continue to apply to the surviving occupier(s). Local authorities have a general power under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to grant discretionary discounts. We know of no authority which has used that power to grant discounts on the occasion of a bereavement.