Citation, commencement and application

1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings, Exempt Dwellings and Discount Disregards) (Amendment) (England) Order 2003 and shall come into force on 1st January 2004.

(2) This Order applies to England only.

Amendment to the Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings) Order 1992

2.The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings) Order 1992( 2 ) is amended as follows:

(a) in article 2, after the definition of “the Act” insert—

“ “care home” means a care home within the meaning of the Care Standards Act 2000 ( 3 ) , in respect of which a person is registered in accordance with Part 2 of that Act; ”

(b) in article 3, before “Where” insert “Subject to article 3A,”;

(c) after article 3, insert the following article—

“ 3A. A care home shall be treated as comprising the number of dwellings found by adding one to the number of self-contained units occupied by, or if currently unoccupied, provided for the purpose of accommodating the person registered in respect of it in accordance with Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000, and each such unit shall be treated as a dwelling. ”

Amendment to the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992

3. In article 3 of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992( 4 ), for class I substitute—

“ Class I: an unoccupied dwelling which was previously the sole or main residence of a person who is an owner or tenant of the dwelling and who—

(a) for the purpose of receiving personal care required by him by reason of old age, disablement, illness, past or present alcohol or drug dependence or past or present mental disorder has his sole or main residence in another place (not being a hospital, care home, independent hospital or hostel within the meaning of paragraphs 6 or 7 of Schedule 1 to the Act or accommodation provided in Scotland by a care home service within the meaning of section 2(3) of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 ( 5 ) ); and

(b) has been a relevant absentee for the whole of the period since the dwelling last ceased to be his residence; ”

Amendment to the Council Tax (Discount Disregards) Order 1992

4. For article 6 of the Council Tax (Discount Disregards) Order 1992( 6 ) substitute—

“ 6. For the purposes of paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Act, “hostel” means—

(a) premises approved under section 9(1) of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 ( 7 ) , or

(b) a building or part of a building—

(i) which is solely or mainly used for the provision of residential accommodation in other than separate and self-contained sets of premises, together with personal care, for persons who require such personal care by reason of old age, disablement, past or present alcohol or drug dependence or past or present mental disorder, and

(ii) which is not a care home or independent hospital for the purposes of that paragraph. ”