Empty homes

When a home becomes unoccupied and unfurnished, it will be exempt for seven days. This means you will not need to pay council tax for this period. After seven days the liable person will be charged the full amount of council tax. This is unless there are other reductions in place.

If you buy or rent a property which is already unfurnished it is likely the exemption has already been awarded and expired. The exemption cannot be awarded again just because the liable person has changed.

Visit our council tax reductions page for more details of the reductions available. You must complete our online form to report your move to get the exemption.

When a home has been empty and unfurnished for two years, an extra premium is paid on top of the council tax. The amount of the premium increases, the longer the property is empty and unfurnished. The amount of the premium will depend on when the property first became empty and unoccupied.

The empty homes premium does not apply to:

• second homes
• annexes used as part of the main house
• properties where the resident is asked to live elsewhere by the Ministry of Defence

In these circumstances, a full charge is due. If you buy a property which has been empty for two years, this premium will apply straightaway. It will apply until you occupy the property. It will continue to apply if you are refurbishing the property before you or a tenant move in. 

The table below sets out the premium that we will add to your council tax bill:

Changes from 1 April 2025

Empty Homes Premium

From 1 April 2025 the additional levy (Premium) for an unoccupied and unfurnished property will be charged after the property has been unoccupied for 1 year (instead of the current 2 year rule)

The revised table of charges is:

When calculating the levy it does not matter if the date the property became empty was before 1 April 2025.

Second Homes Premium

For council tax, second homes are defined as 'A furnished home, which is not currently being used as someone's main home' so this includes a home which is only used occasionally and furnished lets which are between tenants.

From 1 April 2025 an additional levy (Premium) will be charged for all second homes. This will increase the council tax charged by 100% (double the charge).

Incentives are available to owners of long term empty homes, to help them bring the property back into use:

• home improvement grants (subject to eligibility and conditions relating to rent levels and nomination rights)
• home trust loan scheme (opens new window) (subject to eligibility, without the conditions above)
• advice on letting properties on assured shorthold tenancies
• surveying services to assist in organising works
• assistance to access a reduced rate of VAT for properties empty over two years. Or an exemption if property is empty for more than 10 years

When a property has not been lived in for two years or more, the council can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO). We do this if it is clear that the owner has no plans to bring the property back into use.

If we get the order, we can take over the running of the property and bring it back into use, using the powers of the order. We will try to work with property owners to assist them to bring the property back into use, before considering formal enforcement action.