Is it sufficient for a property to be furnished to avoid the empty home
premium on council tax, whether or not it is inhabited?

The rules seems to say furnishings are sufficient but some of the
official advice doesn't appear to assume that. For example, a House of
Commons guide says the following (see the last sentence).

An empty homes premium is payable two years ... after a property
becomes empty, not two years after another council tax exemption
ends.

For instance, if you have inherited a property from a relative who
has died, you may have benefited from a class F council tax exemption
(related to probate on the relative’s estate).

But when that exemption no longer applied, an empty homes premium
would become payable two years ... after the property originally
became empty.

Perhaps the author assumes the property is unoccupied to qualify for
exemption for council tax up to six months after probate is granted?

This is about a house which has been bequeathed (death in 2018), but the beneficiaries of the property have to wait until one reaches a certain
age (in 2027). Consequently the property is left furnished for
occasional use by members of the family. The question is whether it
would be exempt from the council tax empty home premium, whether or not
is inhabited?

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On Wed, 06 Dec 2023 13:07:44 GMT, Pamela
<uklm@permabulator.33mail.com> wrote:

This is about a house which has been bequeathed (death in 2018), but the >beneficiaries of the property have to wait until one reaches a certain
age (in 2027). Consequently the property is left furnished for
occasional use by members of the family. The question is whether it
would be exempt from the council tax empty home premium, whether or not
is inhabited?

I don't know thae answer to the question but unless there is a
particular reason why family members might want to have occasional use
of the property, located in a seaside resort, perhaps, wouldn't it be
better for the beneficiaries if the property was rented out? It'll
take some effort and cost to keep it in a presentable condition over a
(nearly) ten-year period of occasional use.

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