Council Tax on empty homes
If a property becomes empty, the liable person for Council Tax must normally pay the full (100%) Council Tax charge from the empty date. There is no ‘grace period’, but you may be able to claim an exemption or discount which will reduce your charge.
Find out about exemptions and discounts for empty properties.
If the property remains empty and unfurnished, and does not qualify for a discount or exemption, we will start charging an Empty Home Premium in addition to the full Council Tax charge. The premium starts at 100% of the charge, and increases the longer the property is empty.
Changes to the Empty Home Premium from April 2025
From 1 April 2025, properties which have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for a continuous period of more than 1 year will be subject to an additional 100% premium on top of the full Council Tax charge.
Before 1 April 2025 the additional charge only became due after a property had been continuously unoccupied and unfurnished for 2 years.
The premiums for properties that are empty for 5 or more (200% premium), or 10 or more years (300% premium), will remain unchanged.
New exceptions to the Empty Home Premium from April 2025
The government has made new regulations to provide exceptions to the premium. These new exceptions come into effect from 1 April 2025. An exception will apply to properties:
- actively marketed for sale or rent
- undergoing probate
- undergoing major repairs or structural alterations
If an exception applies, you will have to pay the Council Tax charge for the property but will not have to pay the premium. If you think that your property may be eligible for an exception from the Empty Home Premium from April 2025, please apply online.
Apply for an Empty Property Premium exception
If you are unable to apply online, please call 0300 300 8306 or email counciltax@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk and ask for an Empty Property Information form to be sent to you.
Find out more about the Empty Home Premium exceptions on GOV.UK.
Advice about getting an empty property back into use
Empty homes can:
- cause a nuisance to neighbours
- be dangerous
- attract vandals and anti-social behaviour
- decrease the value of neighbouring homes
We introduced the premium to encourage owners of empty homes to bring their properties back into use. We also help owners of empty homes bring their properties back into use, by providing financial and more practical help with renovations.
If you need help bringing your property back into use, you can get advice and financial support.
Empty homes review
We review the empty Council Tax properties in Central Bedfordshire annually, to support the government’s initiative to tackle the national shortfall in available housing. If your property is selected for review, we'll write to you and ask you to complete a review online. You don't need to complete a review unless you're asked to.
The reviews for April 2024 to March 2025 have been completed. We may still write to you about your empty property. You must also tell us if there are any changes affecting your property, which might affect your Council Tax charge.