Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on council tax relief for fire-damaged properties.

Where a property is uninhabitable due to damage it may be removed from the council tax list. No one will be liable for council tax for the property whilst it is removed from the list. It is for the Valuation Office Agency to determine whether a property is uninhabitable for council tax purposes.

Where a property remains on the list, councils have the discretionary power to provide their own discounts where they consider this appropriate. It is for councils to decide whether to apply a discount. Households may wish to contact their council directly about this.