New council tax premium for empty homes

Data analysed by Action on Empty Homes shows the Bolsover district had 716 long term empty homes in 2023

A council is set to introduce a higher tax rate for homes which have been unoccupied for more than a year.

Bolsover District Council said the new charges, which will come into force from April 2026, aimed to motivate owners to bring the buildings back into use.

Empty homes in Bolsover currently pay the full council rate for their band, but will now be charged between double to four times that amount, depending on how long the building has been vacant.

Councillor Clive Moesby said: "Long term empty properties are a wasted resource and bringing them back into use has long been a priority for us."

Improving neighbourhoods

Government data analysed by Action on Empty Homes shows the Bolsover district had 716 long term empty homes in 2023.

The decision to introduce the premium was made at a council meeting last week.

For homes which have stood empty for between one and five years, owners will pay double the standard level of council tax.

Homes unoccupied for between five and 10 years will be three times the standard charge.

And homes empty for at least 10 years will face a bill four times the standard rate.

The council said it would apply to the property rather than the circumstances of the council taxpayer, so a change of ownership will not affect the charge.

However, some homes will be exempt, such as properties owned by members of the armed forces, who have had to move into different accommodation for their job.

'Massive waste'

Mr Moesby, cabinet member for resources, said he believed the new charges, called the "long term empty property premium", will help improve the environment of neighbourhoods and reduce anti-social behaviour.

He said: "We know there is a national housing shortage, so I am delighted that this new premium was agreed as this will hopefully be the push that some landlords and owners need to get their property back into use."

Adam Cliff, from Empty Homes Network, said just under one million homes in England were empty, which was a "massive waste" as the country was "crying out for houses".

He said other councils across the country had introduced similar premiums over the past decade.

Mr Cliff said he supported it, but "with a caveat that councils should be supporting owners, encouraging them, handholding them when necessary to bring properties back into use, not just applying the premium".

The council added its housing department, planners and environmental health teams are working to support the owners of empty homes through the process.