Empty properties and second homes

In short

• An empty home is still liable for council tax, and the owner pays.
• In England, a home left empty and unfurnished for a year can be charged double, rising to four times after ten years.
• The clock follows the property, not the owner, so a buyer can inherit a premium.
• After a death, the home is usually exempt until probate and for up to six months after.

Empty property is one of the most common causes of unexpectedly large council tax debts. People inherit a house, move out before a sale completes, or buy a home that needs work, and reasonably assume that an empty home costs little or nothing. Today the opposite is often true, and the sums involved can be very large.

The general rule

An empty home is still liable for council tax. Because nobody lives there, the owner is liable. For council tax, the owner is usually the person with the freehold, or a tenant whose tenancy is still running. See who has to pay for how that works for tenants who move out before their tenancy ends.

What you pay depends on three things:

1. whether the home is furnished or unfurnished
2. how long it has been empty
3. whether an exemption or exception applies

What counts as empty, and what counts as a second home

For council tax, the difference is about furniture and whether anyone lives there.

• A long-term empty home is one that is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished. In England a premium can apply once it has been like that for a continuous year.
• A second home is one that is furnished but is nobody’s main residence. Holiday homes, flats kept for work, and furnished homes between tenants often fall into this group.

A home cannot escape either label by having a few items left in it. “Substantially unfurnished” means there is not enough furniture to live there reasonably.

England: empty homes

Before the premium starts

Since 2013, councils in England have set their own discounts for empty and unfurnished homes. Many have cut them to nothing, so the full bill is payable from the day a home becomes empty. Some still give a discount for a short period, often one to three months. Check your own council’s policy, because neighbouring councils often differ.

The long-term empty premium

Once a home has been empty and substantially unfurnished for long enough, councils can charge a premium on top of the full bill. It rises with the length of time the home has been empty.

• Normal bill 1×
• Empty 1 to 5 years: up to 100% premium 2×
• Empty 5 to 10 years: up to 200% premium 3×
• Empty 10 years or more: up to 300% premium 4×

Until April 2024 a home had to be empty for two years before any premium could apply. That was cut to one year, which brought a great many owners into the premium much sooner than they expected.

These are maximums. Each council decides whether to charge a premium and at what level, so check yours.

The clock follows the property, not the owner

This is the rule that most often catches people out. The time a home has been empty is counted regardless of who owns it. If you buy a house that has already been empty for more than a year, you can be charged the premium from the day you complete.

The clock only resets if the home is occupied, or substantially furnished, for at least six weeks in a row. A few days of occupation, or furniture moved in briefly, does not reset it.

England: second homes

Since 1 April 2025, councils in England have been able to charge a premium of up to 100% on second homes, doubling the bill. A council must decide to charge it at least a year before the financial year it starts in, and many have done so.

England: exceptions to the premiums

Some homes are excepted from the premiums, even though the full bill may still be due. These exceptions are mandatory: if one applies, your council must not charge the premium, although most last only for a limited time.

Exceptions are not applied automatically. You have to claim them and give evidence, such as marketing details and listings from an estate or letting agent, a copy of the grant of probate, or a builder’s quote or schedule of works.

“Actively marketed” means genuinely on the market at a realistic price, not a sign in the window at a figure nobody will pay. The sale or let exception runs for up to 12 months from when the home was first marketed, and ends sooner if the home is sold or let, or taken off the market.

Exemptions: when you pay nothing at all

Some empty homes are exempt, which means no council tax at all, not just no premium. These are national rules, not local discounts, and they are worth checking before you accept any bill.

When someone has died

Class F is the exemption that most often goes unclaimed, and it can be worth a great deal.

When someone dies and their home is left empty, this is what happens:

1. 1

   Up to the date of death

   The estate is liable

   Any council tax owed up to the death is paid out of the estate.

2. 2

   Until probate is granted

   Exempt while the home is empty

   Class F exemption, as long as nobody lives there.

3. 3

   Up to 6 months after probate

   Still exempt

   As long as the home stays empty and has not been sold or transferred.

4. 4

   Up to 12 months after probate

   No premium

   The empty homes and second homes premiums cannot be charged. Normal council tax is due once the exemption ends.

5. 5

   After that

   Normal rules apply

   A premium may be charged if the home is still empty or furnished but unoccupied.

The exemption until probate only applies while the person liable is the executor or administrator in that role. The 12 months without a premium, under exception Class I, runs alongside the six-month exemption, not after it.

The six months runs from the grant of probate, not from the date of death. Executors often do not realise there is anything to claim. Tell the council about the death, send a copy of the death certificate, and send the grant of probate as soon as it arrives.

If someone else was living in the home when the person died, it is not empty. That person may be liable from the date of death, and may be entitled to a discount.

When someone has moved into care

If the person who lived in a home has moved permanently into a hospital or care home, their former home can be exempt (Class E) for as long as it stays empty. There is no time limit. If they have instead moved to live with someone else to receive care, Class I may apply.

Homes that need major work

The old national exemption for homes needing major repairs was abolished in England in 2013. Councils can give a local discount instead, and many set it at nothing, so ask what your council offers.

Two things can still help:

• Exception Class M stops the long-term empty premium being charged for up to 12 months while major repairs or structural work are needed or under way. The full bill may still be due.
• Removing the property from the list. If a home is genuinely uninhabitable, not just in poor condition, you can ask the Valuation Office Agency to take it out of the council tax list altogether. If it agrees, no council tax is payable while the property is in that state.

The bar for removal is high. The question is broadly whether the property is so derelict that it could not be made fit to live in by a reasonable amount of repair. A roofless shell will qualify. A house that needs a new kitchen, rewiring and redecoration will not. If a property really is derelict, this is the right route, and it can remove years of liability.

Wales

Wales has gone further than England on premiums, but kept more exemptions.

• Councils in Wales can charge premiums of up to 300% on long-term empty homes, empty for more than a year, and on second homes, since 1 April 2023. That means a bill of up to four times the normal charge, whatever the length of time.
• Wales still has two exemptions that England abolished: Class A, for empty homes that need or are having major repairs or structural work, and Class C, for empty and unfurnished homes, each for a limited period.
• Wales has its own set of exceptions to the premiums, which are similar in purpose to England’s, including homes being marketed for sale or let.

Premiums are set by each Welsh council, and several charge at or near the top of the range, so check your own council’s current level.

Scotland

• Homes that are unoccupied and unfurnished are exempt for their first six months.
• Once a home has been empty for more than 12 months, councils can charge a premium, and they can do the same for second homes.
• From 1 April 2026, the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2026 removed the 100% cap on these premiums. Scottish councils can now set whatever level they choose. Glasgow, for example, added a 200% premium on long-term empty homes and second homes from April 2026.

See our Scotland guides for how council tax is collected and enforced there.

Landlords between tenants

When a tenancy ends and the property is empty, the landlord becomes liable straight away. There is no national period of grace between tenants. If the home is left furnished, it may be treated as a second home, and some councils charge the second homes premium. Exception Class H applies for up to 12 months while a home is actively marketed for let.

Tell the council promptly when a tenant moves out and when a new one moves in, with evidence of the dates.

If you are being chased for an empty property

Check these in order:

1. The dates. Does the bill match the period you actually owned it, or the period after the tenancy ended? Errors at the start and end of ownership are common.
2. Whether an exemption applies to any part of the period, especially Class F where somebody has died, and Class E where somebody has moved into care.
3. When the premium clock started. It follows the property, not the owner, and resets only after six weeks of occupation or furnishing. Check the council’s start date against what actually happened.
4. Whether an exception should apply, for example because the home was being marketed, probate had just been granted, or major works were needed.
5. Whether the property should be in the list at all, if it is derelict.

A successful challenge on any of these can reduce a large bill substantially. Put it in writing to your council with your evidence. If the council does not agree within two months, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. See who has to pay for how appeals work.

Questions people often ask

I have just bought a house that was empty for two years. Do I pay the premium?

In England, possibly yes, from the day you complete. The empty period follows the property. If you move in, or furnish it and keep it furnished, for six weeks, the clock resets. If you are doing major works, ask about exception Class M, which can stop the premium for up to 12 months.

My dad has died and his house is empty. Do we pay council tax?

Not until probate is granted, and usually not for up to six months after that, as long as the house stays empty and has not been sold or transferred. Tell the council and send the death certificate and, later, the grant of probate.

Our house is on the market. Why are we paying double?

The sale exception, Class G, has to be claimed with evidence, and lasts for up to 12 months from when marketing started. If you have not claimed it, send the council your agent’s details and the listing. If it has already run for 12 months, the premium can apply again.

I have left some furniture in my empty house. Does that make it a second home?

If it is substantially furnished, it may be treated as a second home rather than an empty one, and a second homes premium may apply. A few leftover items do not make a home furnished. Your council decides based on what is actually there.