Empty Homes Premium
Until 31/03/2020 a property that has been empty and unfurnished for two years or more will be subject to an empty homes premium of 50%.
From 01/04/2020 a property that has been empty and unfurnished for two years or more will be subject to an empty homes premium of 100%. This means that in addition to the full charge an extra 100% will be payable.
If your property has been empty and unfurnished for more than five years the empty homes premium will be 200%.
PLEASE NOTE: As of 01/04/2021 If your property has been empty and unfurnished for more than Ten years the empty homes premium will be 300%.
The council has introduced this measure to encourage owners of empty properties to bring them back into use.
There are two exemptions from the empty homes premium.
The first is that a property is an annexe and is used in conjunction with the occupation of the main property.
The second is that the property would be the sole/main residence of a person, but is empty as that person resides in accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence, because of their employment (service personnel posted away from home).
If you think that either of these apply please complete the application under related links. If you qualify for exemption from the empty homes premium you will still have a full (100%) charge to pay.