Empty, new or altered properties

Even if your property is empty, you will still be eligible for the full Council Tax rate. This includes: 

• second homes 
• unoccupied and unfurnished properties 
• Properties where major repairs or structural changes are taking place

Long-term empty homes premium

We currently charge a Council Tax premium if your property remains empty for one year or more, in accordance with the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.  The longer the property remains empty, the more Council Tax you will pay. 

From 1 April 2024 if a property has been empty for: 

• 1 to 5 years, there is a 100% premium, so you will pay twice as much as the Council Tax band charge
• 5 to 10 years, there is a 200% premium, you will pay three times as much as the Council Tax band charge
• more than 10 years, there is a 300% premium, you will pay four times as much as the Council Tax band charge

The premium is attached to the property, so if you buy a property that was empty for one or more years and continues to be empty while you own it, the premium will still apply. 

If someone has moved into the property, so the property is not empty anymore, please let us know using our online form. 

Start moving in form

Second homes premium

From 1 April 2025 the 100% Council Tax premium on second homes will be effective. This will mean a total Council Tax charge of 200% for second homes from 1 April 2025. 

For Council Tax purposes, second homes are defined as furnished properties where no one lives or the owner has a main home elsewhere. This premium will include properties that are not being used as a second home but have been left empty but furnished.

Unlike empty properties, the property does not have to be used as a second home for a specific amount of time before the premium will apply. The premium will be chargeable from the first day the property is considered a second home or periodically occupied.

There is no right of appeal against the council’s decision to charge the premium. However if the property is someone's main residence please let us know using the online form when the property became yours or someone else's main residence. We will need supporting evidence that this property is now a main residence, evidence may include:

• a copy of the tenancy agreement if the property has been rented.
• or if you have moved into the property, identification documents that include your address such as a copy of your driving licence together with a copy of your closing Council Tax bill for your previous addresses.

Start moving in form

Help to rent out your property

If you need help to get your property in a livable state or support to rent it, we can help to: 

• find a tenant 
• lease your property to us
• apply for an empty property grant

Find more help for landlords.

When a property is exempt from Council Tax

There is no discount for most empty properties, but some exceptions exist. The property may be unoccupied because:

• occupation is prohibited  
• It is for a minister or a religion
• the person living has left to get personal care 
• the person living has gone to provide personal care for someone else
• it is unoccupied by a student owner
• it a mortgage company has repossessed the property
• the person is a trustee in bankruptcy 
• no one is living on the caravan pitch or boat mooring
• it is an unoccupied annexe

Read more about discounts and exemptions.