Long term empty properties
Currently if you are responsible for council tax at a property which has been empty and unfurnished for longer than a year you will be charged an additional rate on top of the standard amount you are required to pay for that property:
- from 1 April 2026 – 100 per cent additional council tax on properties which are empty for one or more years (previously from 1 April 2019 empty for two-years)
- from 1 April 2020 – 200 per cent additional council tax on properties which are empty for five or more years
- from 1 April 2021 – 300 per cent additional council tax on properties which are empty for ten or more years.
The additional charge will be shown on your council tax bill.
With effect from 1 April 2025 there are however certain exemptions to this premium being applied which include:-
- dwellings requiring or undergoing major repairs or structural alterations (12 months exemption. If repairs completed in less than 12 months the exemption will apply for up to 6 months or until the end of the 12 months whichever is sooner)
- premises owned by members of the armed forces;
- annexes;
- properties that are genuinely on the market for sale or let (12-month exemption) – subject to verification checks to confirm active marketing (the effective date will be determined from when the property first entered the market. If this occurred before 1 April 2025, the full 12-month exemption period will not apply;
- where probate has recently been granted (12-month exemption from grant of probate/letters of administration);
Please note that we may use any information you provide to identify vacant properties and take steps to encourage them back into use – for more information please see Schedule 2 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
Contact us - Council tax
0345 302 2313
(Text phone users add 18001 before dialling)
South Oxfordshire District Council
Po Box 872
Erith
DA8 1UN
