Councils in England can add a premium of up to 100% to the council tax on a home that has been empty and substantially unfurnished for a year, rising to 200% after 5 years and 300% after 10 years, and since April 2025 up to 100% on furnished second homes. Nine mandatory exceptions, including homes being actively marketed for sale or let and homes in probate, stop the premium for set periods. Wales allows premiums of up to 300% on both types of home, and Scotland up to 100%.

What counts as a long term empty home or a second home?

The powers are in sections 11B and 11C of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended by the Levelling up and Regeneration Act 2023. A long term empty home is one that has been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for a continuous period of at least 1 year. It must be occupied, or substantially furnished, for at least 6 weeks in a row to reset the clock. A second home, which the legislation calls a dwelling occupied periodically, is one that is substantially furnished and has no resident, so it is not anyone’s sole or main residence.

A home that is let to a tenant as their main home is not a second home, even if the owner has several properties. A home that is exempt from council tax under the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 cannot be charged a premium while the exemption lasts. The government guidance makes a point that catches many owners: for an empty home the 1 year runs from when it first became empty, not from when an exemption ended, while a second home can face the premium as soon as an exemption ends.

How much can a council in England charge?

Type of home Maximum premium
Empty for 1 year but less than 5 years 100%
Empty for 5 years but less than 10 years 200%
Empty for 10 years or more 300%
Furnished second home with no resident 100%

Both premiums are discretionary. A council can choose whether to charge them, at what percentage up to the maximum, and in all or only part of its area. A council’s first decision to charge a second homes premium must be made at least 1 year before the financial year it applies to, which is why most second homes premiums began in April 2025 or later. Determinations can be varied or revoked only before the start of the financial year, and the council must publish a notice in a local newspaper within 21 days, although missing that notice does not invalidate the charge.

Which homes are excepted from the premiums in England?

The Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings and Consequential Amendments) (England) Regulations 2024 set nine classes, in force from 1 April 2025, which councils cannot override:

Class Applies to Description
E Both Home that would be the main residence of someone living in job related armed forces accommodation
F Both Annex forming part of, or treated as part of, the main home
G Both Actively marketed for sale, up to 12 months
H Both Actively marketed for let, up to 12 months
I Both Probate, for 12 months from the grant of probate or letters of administration
J Second homes Job related homes
K Second homes Occupied caravan pitches and boat moorings
L Second homes Seasonal homes where planning prevents year round occupation, limits use to holiday accommodation, or prevents occupation for more than 28 days in a row
M Empty homes Homes needing or undergoing major repairs or structural alteration, up to 12 months

How do the marketing, probate and repair exceptions work?

The sale exception can be used only once by the same owner for a particular home, though it becomes available again after a sale to a new owner. The letting exception can be used repeatedly, but only after the home has been let for a continuous period of at least 6 months since it last applied, or let on an assured tenancy. Councils judge whether marketing is genuine by looking at whether the home is clearly advertised, priced at a fair market value, free of artificial barriers, and has an Energy Performance Certificate.

The probate exception runs for 12 months from the grant, alongside the existing council tax exemption that can last 6 months after probate, and ends early if the home is sold. The major repairs exception lasts up to 12 months. If the works finish sooner, it continues for up to 6 months or until the 12 months end, whichever comes first, and it cannot be used again until the home is sold. Furnishing the home so it becomes a second home also ends it.

What does this look like in practice?

Illustration only. Priya inherited a house that has been empty and unfurnished since 2019. Her council charges the maximum premiums and the ordinary charge for the property is £2,000 a year. Because it has been empty for more than 5 years, the bill for 2026 to 2027 is £2,000 plus a 200% premium, which is £6,000. In March 2026 she instructs an agent at a realistic asking price with a valid Energy Performance Certificate. Class G then removes the premium for up to 12 months while it is actively marketed. If the house has not sold by March 2027 the premium returns, and Priya cannot claim the sale exception again for this house. Her other option is to ask the council for a discretionary reduction under section 13A of the 1992 Act.

If Priya instead moves some furniture in, the house stops being a long term empty home but becomes a second home, which can carry its own premium.

How do the rules differ in Wales and Scotland?

In Wales, sections 12A and 12B of the 1992 Act let councils increase council tax by up to 300% on long term empty homes and on second homes. A home is long term empty after 1 year unoccupied and substantially unfurnished, ignoring breaks of up to 6 weeks. The Council Tax (Exceptions to Higher Amounts) (Wales) Regulations 2015 set seven classes: homes marketed for sale or let (each for up to a year), annexes used as part of the main home, armed forces cases, caravan pitches and boat moorings, homes restricted by planning conditions to holiday use, and job related homes.

In Scotland, the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 set the current maximum from 1 April 2024: councils can increase council tax by up to 100% on second homes and on homes unoccupied for more than 12 months. An empty home bought less than 6 months ago that is undergoing repairs or renovations to improve it is protected, and the council can extend that period.

How can a premium be challenged?

Start with the council, which decides whether an exception applies and can correct the bill if evidence shows the premium should not be charged. If you are not satisfied with its response you may be able to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. Keep agency agreements, listing screenshots, builders’ quotes and probate documents, since councils will ask for them.

What mistakes do owners make?

  • Assuming a short let or brief stay resets the empty period. In England and Wales a break of less than 6 weeks does not.
  • Furnishing an empty home to escape the empty homes premium and walking into the second homes premium.
  • Treating a holiday let as a business without checking the night counts in holiday lets: business rates or council tax.
  • Waiting too long after a death. The probate exception runs from the grant, so executors dealing with the deceased’s tax affairs should plan the sale or letting early.
  • Overlooking that a home let between tenants may qualify for the letting exception. Costs during these gaps are covered in empty property costs between lets, and owners moving out of a former home should also read letting your former home.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.