I agree, FWIW. The case when a property is uninhabitable because it's being rebuilt seems fair. Getting a discount just for leaving something empty (or using it

I agree, FWIW. The case when a property is uninhabitable because it's being rebuilt seems fair. Getting a discount just for leaving something empty (or using it once a month) does seem regressive. Fortunately(?), councils are basically all skirting bankruptcy, as a result of having their central grants slashed. So these discretionary discounts are becoming rare in actual practice.