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;

“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);

“tenant” does not include a person with a leasehold interest granted for 6 months or more but, subject to that, includes a secure tenant or a statutory tenant.

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

3.  In relation to a dwelling within Class E in regulation 2, where a minister of the Church of England is both the inhabitant and the owner of the dwelling, 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.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Under Part I of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, the council tax becomes payable with effect from 1st April 1993. These Regulations specify classes of dwellings for which the person liable for the council tax is the owner rather than the occupier. The classes are–

• nursing homes and other similar homes (Class A)

• houses of religious communities (Class B)

• houses in multiple occupation (Class C)

• residences of staff who live in houses occasionally occupied by an employer (Class D)

• residences of ministers of religion (Class E).

In the case of dwellings within Class E owned by Ministers of the Church of England, liability is transferred by regulation 3 to the Diocesan Board of Finance, rather than to the owner.