2003 No. 3125
COUNCIL TAX, ENGLAND

The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003

Made
Laid before Parliament
Coming into force
The First Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 8(1) and 113(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 19921 hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and application1.

(1)

These Regulations may be cited as the Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 1st January 2004.

(2)

These Regulations apply to England only.

Residential care homes2.

In regulation 2 of the Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations 19922, for Class A there is substituted—

  • “Class A

    1. (a)
      a care home within the meaning of the Care Standards Act 20003, in respect of which a person is registered in accordance with Part 2 of that Act;
    2. (b)
      a building or a part of a building in which residential accommodation is provided under section 21 of the National Assistance Act 19484; or
    3. (c)
      a hostel within the meaning given by paragraph 7 of Schedule 15 to the Act.”.

Signed by authority of the First Secretary of State

Phil Hope
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations 1992 prescribe the classes of dwelling for which the person liable for council tax is the owner rather than the occupier. Class A in regulation 2 of those regulations provided for the owner to be liable for council tax for “a residential care home, nursing home, mental nursing home or hostel within the meanings given by paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to” the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

The Care Standards Act 2000 amended paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Local Government Finance Act 1992, by substituting references to “care home” and “independent hospital” for the previous terms “residential care home”, “nursing home” and “mental nursing home”. Article 2 of these Regulations substitutes for the existing Class A a new Class A in the Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations 1992 which refers to care homes within the meaning of the Care Standards Act 2000, in respect of which a person is registered in accordance with Part 2 of that Act, buildings or parts of buildings in which residential accommodation is provided under section 21 of the National Assistance Act 1948 and hostels within the meaning of paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

The owner and not the occupier will be liable to pay the council tax only for those care homes within the meaning of the Care Standards Act 2000, in respect of which a person is registered in accordance with Part 2 of that Act. Where no person has so registered, although they should have, the occupiers and not the owner will continue to be liable for council tax.