ALMOST 6,000 properties in Oxford are classified as being exempt from council tax, a report states.
Oxford City Council’s audit and governance committee was updated on empty properties this week.
Council tax is not payable on exempt dwellings, which include properties occupied by students, and where the taxpayer is dead or receiving care elsewhere.
The empty property report says that as of February 1, 5,938 properties in Oxford were classified as being exempt from council tax – out of a total of 62,682 dwellings.
If all those properties were occupied at an average Band D figure of £2,130.64, the annual loss of income before any other reductions such as discounts or benefits would be in the region of £12.6 million.
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Long-term empty properties – those that are empty for two years or more – can have their council tax liability charge increased.
All council tax properties that are empty for more than six months are referred to the council’s empty property officer.
Empty property owners are written to at least twice a year, with the most recent mailshot sent to 232 owners, in relation to properties that have been empty for between six months and two years.
The council report states empty properties that are left unoccupied can attract criminal behaviour or lead to vermin in the vicinity.
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