Statutory Instruments

1992 No. 551

COUNCIL TAX, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations 1992_I1

Made

9th March 1992

Laid before Parliament

10th March 1992

Coming into force

31st March 1992

The Secretary of State for the Environment, as respects England, and the Secretary of State for Wales, as respects Wales, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 8(1), (5) and (6) and section 113(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992(1)and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations–

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations 1992 and shall come into force on 31st March 1992.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations–

“ the Act ” means the Local Government Finance Act 1992 ;

[^F1 “ HMO ”—

(a)

in relation to England means a building or part of a building which is a “ house in multiple occupation ” as defined by section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 but as if subsections (1)(e) and (5) of that section were omitted;

(b)

in relation to Wales means a building or part of a building which is a “ house in multiple occupation ” as defined by section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 but—

(i)

as if subsections (1)(e) and (5) of that section were omitted, and

(ii)

in applying the test for when persons are to be treated as occupying a building or part of a building as their only or main residence under section 254(2)(c) of the Housing Act 2004, as if section 259(2)(b) of that Act were omitted;^F1]

[^F2 “ introductory standard contract ” has the meaning given in section 16(4) of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 ; ^F2]

[^F3 “ Introductory tenant ” means a tenant under an introductory tenancy within the meaning of Chapter I of Part V of the Housing Act 1996 ; ^F3]

[^F4 “ secure contract ” has the meaning given in section 8 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 ; ^F4]

“ secure tenant ” means a tenant under a secure tenancy within the meaning of Part IV of the Housing Act 1985 ( 2 );

“ statutory tenant ” means a statutory tenant within the meaning of the Rent Act 1977 ( 3 )or the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 ( 4 );

[^F5 “ tenant ” includes [^F6 a tenant under an introductory standard contract or secure contract, ^F6] a secure tenant, an introductory tenant and a statutory tenant. ^F5]

2. The following are the classes of chargeable dwellings prescribed for the purposes of section 8(1) of the Act–

Residential care homes, etc

^F7[^F8 Class A	[^F9 (a) in relation to England, a care home, within the meaning of the Care Standards Act 2000, in respect of which a person is registered in accordance with Part 1 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008; and
	(aa) in relation to Wales, a place at which a care home service, within the meaning of Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016, is provided wholly or mainly to persons aged 18 or over.^F9]
	[^F10 (b) a building or a part of a building in which residential accommodation is provided under section 21 of the National Assistance Act 1948 [^F11 or accommodation is provided under section 18 or 19 of the Care Act 2014 (duty and power to meet needs for care and support)^F11] ; or^F10]
	[^F10 (b) a building or part of a building in which accommodation is provided under section 18 or 19 of the Care Act 2014 or under section 35 or 36 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (duty and power to meet needs for care and support); or^F10]
	(c) a hostel within the meaning given by paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Act [^F12 in relation to England or by regulation 17(2) of the Council Tax (Discounts, Disregards and Exemptions) (Wales) Regulations 2026 in relation to Wales^F12] .^F8]

Religious communities

Class B

a dwelling [^F13in England or Wales^F13] inhabited by a religious community whose principal occupation consists of prayer, contemplation, education, the relief of suffering, or any combination of these.

[^F14Houses in multiple occupation, etc

Class C	a dwelling in England or Wales which—
	(a) was originally constructed or subsequently adapted for occupation by persons who do not constitute a single household,
	(b) is inhabited by a person who, or by two or more persons each of whom either—
	(i) is a tenant of, or has a licence to occupy, part only of the dwelling, or
	(ii) has a licence to occupy, but is not liable (whether alone or jointly with other persons) to pay rent or a licence fee in respect of, the dwelling as a whole, or
	(c) is an HMO.^F14]

Resident Staff

Class D	a dwelling–
	(a) in which at least one of the residents is employed in domestic service and resides in the dwelling wholly or mainly for the purposes of his employment;
	(b) in which any other resident is either so employed or is a member of the family of a resident so employed; and
	(c) which is from time to time occupied by the employer of that person.

Ministers of religion

Class E

a dwelling which is inhabited by a minister of any religious denomination as a residence from which he performs the duties of his office.

^F15[^F16Asylum Seekers

Class F

a dwelling provided to an asylum seeker under, or under arrangements made under, section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.^F16] .

[^F17Refuge _I2_,_I3

Class G

a building in Wales that is a Class Y dwelling under regulation 29 of the Council Tax (Discounts, Disregards and Exemptions) (Wales) Regulations 2026.^F17]

[^F18 2A.—(1) In relation to a dwelling within Class C in regulation 2, section 8(3) shall have effect as if, for the reference to the owner, there were substituted a reference to—

(a) the person who has a relevant material interest which is not subject to a relevant material interest inferior to it;

or, if there is no such person—

(b) the person who has a freehold interest in the whole or any part of the dwelling.

(2) In paragraph (1), “relevant material interest” means a freehold or leasehold interest in the whole of the dwelling. ^F18]

^F193. In relation to a dwelling within Class E in regulation 2, where a minister of the Church of England is ... the inhabitant and the owner of the dwelling [^F20and is in receipt of a stipend^F20] , section 8(3) of the Act shall have effect as if, for the reference to the owner, there were substituted a reference to the Diocesan Board of Finance of the diocese in which the dwelling is situated.

Michael Heseltine

Secretary of State for the Environment

9th March 1992

David Hunt

Secretary of State for Wales

9th March 1992

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

in force	Provision is in force
in force*	In force only for specified purposes (for detail about the purposes see/hover footnote)
not in force	Not in force in England (may be in force in other geographies, see footnotes)
italics	Defined term
_dfn	Defined term (alternative style)
gry bckgrd	the in-force status of the provision is complex, check the footnotes

in force

Provision is in force

in force*

In force only for specified purposes (for detail about the purposes see/hover footnote)

not in force

Not in force in England (may be in force in other geographies, see footnotes)

italics

Defined term

_dfn

Defined term (alternative style)

gry bckgrd

the in-force status of the provision is complex, check the footnotes

footnote	commentary	related provisions	geo extent	insert/omit
F1	Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (3.6.2026) by The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings and Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/88), regs. 1(2), 3(2)(a)			substituted
F2	Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (W.) (3.6.2026) by The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings and Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/88), regs. 1(2), 3(2)(b)		inserted: Wales	inserted
F3	Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (12.2.1997) by The Housing Act 1996 (Consequential Amendments) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/74), art. 1, Sch. para. 12(a)			inserted
F4	Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (W.) (3.6.2026) by The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings and Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/88), regs. 1(2), 3(2)(c)		inserted: Wales	inserted
F5	Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (12.2.1997) by The Housing Act 1996 (Consequential Amendments) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/74), art. 1, Sch. para. 12(b)			substituted
F6	Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (W.) (3.6.2026) by The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings and Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/88), regs. 1(2), 3(2)(d)		inserted: Wales	inserted
F7	Reg. 2 Class A substituted (W.) (1.4.2005) by The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/2920), regs. 1(1), 2		substituted: Wales	substituted
F8	Reg. 2 Class A substituted (E.) (1.1.2004) by The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/3125), regs. 1(1), 2		substituted: England	substituted
F9	Words in reg. 2 Class A substituted (E.) (2.4.2018) by The Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (Consequential Amendments to Secondary Legislation) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/48), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 5(2)		substituted: England	substituted
F10	Words in reg. 2 Class A substituted (W.) (6.4.2016) by The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (Consequential Amendments) (Secondary Legislation) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/211), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 5		substituted: Wales	substituted
F11	Words in reg. 2 Class A inserted (1.4.2015) by The Care Act 2014 (Consequential Amendments) (Secondary Legislation) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/643), art. 1(2), Sch. para. 8 (with art. 4); S.I. 2015/993, art. 2(a)	this amendment (text inserted) should be read in conjunction with other related provisions, see the commentary.		inserted
F12	Words in reg. 2 Class A inserted (3.6.2026) by The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings and Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/88), regs. 1(2), 3(3)(a)			inserted
F13	Words in reg. 2 Class B inserted (3.6.2026) by The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings and Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/88), regs. 1(2), 3(3)(b)			inserted
F14	Reg. 2 Class C substituted (3.6.2026) by The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings and Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/88), regs. 1(2), 3(3)(c)			substituted
F15	Reg. 2 Class F inserted (W.) (3.4.2000) by The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/1024), regs. 1(1), 2		inserted: Wales	inserted
F16	Reg. 2 Class F inserted (E.) (3.4.2000) by The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/537), regs. 1(1), 2		inserted: England	inserted
F17	reg. 2 Class G inserted (W.) (3.6.2026) by The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings and Liability for Owners) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/88), regs. 1(2), 3(3)(d)		inserted: Wales	inserted
F18	Reg. 2A inserted (24.2.1993) by The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Amendment) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/151), regs. 1, 2(c)			inserted
F19	Word in reg. 3 omitted (1.4.1995) by virtue of The Council Tax (Liability for Owners and Additional Provisions for Discount Disregards) (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/620), regs. 1, 3			omitted
F20	Words in reg. 3 inserted (1.4.1995) by The Council Tax (Liability for Owners and Additional Provisions for Discount Disregards) (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/620), regs. 1, 3			inserted
I1	Reg. 1 in force at 31.3.1992, see reg. 1(1)
I2	Reg. 2 in force at 31.3.1992, see reg. 1(1)
I3	Reg. 3 in force at 31.3.1992, see reg. 1(1)

Defined Term	Section/Article	ID
HMO	Unknown	def_2b6551fdad
house in multiple occupation	Unknown	def_1f665a71f1
house in multiple occupation	Unknown	def_db90bcdc22
introductory standard contract	Unknown	def_3fdcd669a8
Introductory tenant	Unknown	def_0a283502dc
relevant material interest	Unknown	def_1c73bb0a79
secure contract	Unknown	def_6cda547127
secure tenant	Unknown	def_2551449bff
statutory tenant	Unknown	def_db98720031
tenant	Unknown	def_b282fdccfd
the Act	Unknown	def_01a6b2954f

1992 No. 551

The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations 1992I1

Residential care homes, etc

Religious communities

[F14Houses in multiple occupation, etc

Resident Staff

Ministers of religion

F15[F16Asylum Seekers

[F17Refuge I2,I3

Status of changes to instrument text

The Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations 1992_I1

[^F14Houses in multiple occupation, etc

^F15[^F16Asylum Seekers

[^F17Refuge _I2_,_I3