Data · England

Empty homes and council tax, by council

Figures from MHCLG’s Council Taxbase 2025 (councils’ records on 6 October 2025, published 6 November 2025, revised 21 January 2026). The 2026 figures are due in November 2026.

303,185 homes in England had been empty for more than six months on 6 October 2025, and 152,928 of them (50%) were paying the empty homes premium, extra council tax of up to 300% on homes left empty for years. The table below shows every council, sortable. If you are an executor with an empty inherited house, the charge usually starts later than you might fear; see what you can do below.

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By Simon Dunn, HouseBought4CashPublished 28 October 2026Last updated 28 October 2026

homes empty for more than six months: 303,185homes empty for more than six months
paying the empty homes premium: 152,928paying the empty homes premium
paying the premium have been empty for over 10 years: 8,445paying the premium have been empty for over 10 years
councils in the table: 296councils in the table

Empty homes and the premium, council by council

Every billing authority in England, sorted by the number of long-term empty homes. Select a column heading to sort by it. “Long-term empty” is the government’s own measure: homes empty for more than six months, not counting those empty because of the 2023–24 floods or under the empty homes discount for major repairs. The premium columns count the homes actually charged extra, by how long they had been empty. “Highest premium” is the largest extra percentage the council was charging on at least one home.

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Long-term empty homes and the empty homes premium by council, England, 6 October 2025

Birmingham	West Midlands	7,060	5,193	74%	3,643	638	661	251	300%
North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	4,652	2,225	48%	979	816	272	158	300%
Liverpool	North West	4,492	2,223	49%	801	743	510	169	300%
Durham	North East	4,182	2,334	56%	0	1,902	292	140	300%
Leeds	Yorkshire and the Humber	3,932	2,875	73%	1,581	1,051	179	64	300%
Cornwall	South West	3,667	1,821	50%	880	673	188	80	300%
Bradford	Yorkshire and the Humber	3,414	2,190	64%	1,491	300	266	133	300%
Barnet	London	3,277	1,630	50%	798	647	134	51	300%
Kirklees	Yorkshire and the Humber	3,265	2,227	68%	1,857	141	156	73	300%
Westmorland and Furness	North West	2,715	1,292	48%	626	379	187	100	300%
Sheffield	Yorkshire and the Humber	2,651	1,490	56%	643	442	194	211	300%
Southwark	London	2,543	1,634	64%	1,062	305	244	23	300%
Wiltshire	South West	2,496	337	14%	0	181	1	155	200%
Northumberland	North East	2,452	1,435	59%	831	358	167	79	300%
Buckinghamshire	South East	2,394	1,306	55%	785	281	163	77	300%
Somerset	South West	2,328	1,326	57%	416	683	150	77	300%
Dorset	South West	2,326	1,176	51%	714	344	81	37	300%
Leicester	East Midlands	2,284	1,125	49%	0	936	96	93	300%
Lambeth	London	2,280	1,725	76%	643	846	167	69	300%
Westminster	London	2,279	1,271	56%	500	567	172	32	300%
Brighton and Hove	South East	2,233	985	44%	552	365	60	8	300%
Cheshire East	North West	2,200	1,257	57%	0	1,090	105	62	300%
Kingston upon Hull	Yorkshire and the Humber	2,181	1,133	52%	0	951	129	53	300%
Tower Hamlets	London	2,174	1,460	67%	840	558	54	8	300%
Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole	South West	2,138	1,309	61%	672	451	137	49	300%
Wirral	North West	2,138	1,259	59%	628	417	144	70	300%
Bristol	South West	2,071	1,111	54%	902	107	68	34	300%
Camden	London	2,059	730	35%	285	321	119	5	300%
Kensington and Chelsea	London	2,030	1,411	70%	0	1,196	154	61	300%
Shropshire	West Midlands	2,028	1,178	58%	0	989	106	83	300%
Sunderland	North East	2,017	1,012	50%	527	297	131	57	300%
Doncaster	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,975	1,282	65%	920	155	136	71	300%
Sandwell	West Midlands	1,958	724	37%	419	161	96	48	300%
Enfield	London	1,943	1,163	60%	964	75	108	16	300%
Cumberland	North West	1,938	1,126	58%	460	412	154	100	300%
Manchester	North West	1,900	1,027	54%	436	410	63	118	300%
Bolton	North West	1,894	954	50%	398	406	110	40	300%
Nottingham	East Midlands	1,890	1,159	61%	705	252	143	59	300%
North Northamptonshire	East Midlands	1,884	466	25%	0	375	57	34	300%
Sefton	North West	1,884	1,269	67%	731	222	213	103	300%
Newham	London	1,852	1,473	80%	782	192	101	398	300%
Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	1,837	1,163	63%	560	358	164	81	300%
East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,832	1,067	58%	631	208	170	58	300%
Dudley	West Midlands	1,808	1,022	57%	665	245	80	32	300%
North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,768	610	35%	231	245	97	37	300%
Brent	London	1,734	1,035	60%	839	66	107	23	300%
Hounslow	London	1,729	998	58%	730	203	53	12	300%
Greenwich	London	1,688	689	41%	366	228	65	30	300%
Torbay	South West	1,675	899	54%	0	816	61	22	300%
Haringey	London	1,643	526	32%	0	412	80	34	300%
Cheshire West and Chester	North West	1,625	813	50%	300	374	89	50	300%
Rochdale	North West	1,618	1,012	63%	293	410	279	30	300%
Calderdale	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,596	1,072	67%	0	802	182	88	300%
Coventry	West Midlands	1,570	924	59%	544	271	68	41	300%
Merton	London	1,552	913	59%	0	828	53	32	300%
Bromley	London	1,522	492	32%	0	374	78	40	300%
Wolverhampton	West Midlands	1,518	913	60%	427	345	101	40	300%
Middlesbrough	North East	1,513	472	31%	0	336	101	35	200%
Milton Keynes	South East	1,487	844	57%	511	284	31	18	300%
St Helens	North West	1,484	1,013	68%	473	311	144	85	300%
Luton	East of England	1,483	967	65%	431	405	111	20	300%
Thanet	South East	1,454	716	49%	281	367	52	16	300%
Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	1,446	896	62%	0	642	144	110	300%
Croydon	London	1,432	606	42%	229	267	72	38	300%
East Suffolk	East of England	1,420	779	55%	371	287	74	47	300%
Derby	East Midlands	1,398	730	52%	347	290	64	29	300%
Gateshead	North East	1,386	394	28%	0	246	94	54	300%
Central Bedfordshire	East of England	1,380	739	54%	0	634	77	28	300%
Medway	South East	1,377	710	52%	503	114	57	36	300%
Blackpool	North West	1,365	654	48%	291	211	114	38	300%
Wakefield	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,354	898	66%	440	322	86	50	300%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk	East of England	1,344	692	51%	0	594	74	24	300%
East Lindsey	East Midlands	1,306	474	36%	0	326	96	52	300%
Harrow	London	1,291	686	53%	354	255	65	12	300%
Redbridge	London	1,288	694	54%	574	64	45	11	300%
Stockport	North West	1,269	589	46%	244	250	60	35	300%
Trafford	North West	1,262	814	65%	0	710	79	25	300%
Walsall	West Midlands	1,245	816	66%	130	557	98	31	300%
Hackney	London	1,219	850	70%	386	286	136	42	200%
North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,214	472	39%	185	181	80	26	300%
Barnsley	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,213	607	50%	280	228	73	26	300%
Herefordshire	West Midlands	1,184	642	54%	311	262	39	30	300%
Stratford-on-Avon	West Midlands	1,181	278	24%	0	278	0	0	100%
Stockton-on-Tees	North East	1,167	646	55%	221	315	79	31	300%
South Cambridgeshire	East of England	1,157	244	21%	0	163	53	28	300%
Tameside	North West	1,149	550	48%	293	164	54	39	300%
Waltham Forest	London	1,148	681	59%	371	210	77	23	300%
York	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,130	608	54%	285	269	37	17	300%
Braintree	East of England	1,126	633	56%	0	489	82	62	300%
Southampton	South East	1,125	637	57%	419	150	57	11	300%
Rotherham	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,116	520	47%	0	425	67	28	300%
West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	1,112	562	51%	215	235	72	40	200%
Havering	London	1,107	411	37%	0	241	89	81	300%
Plymouth	South West	1,105	555	50%	330	144	59	22	300%
Peterborough	East of England	1,077	544	51%	0	499	34	11	300%
Canterbury	South East	1,073	504	47%	207	223	61	13	300%
Lewisham	London	1,070	601	56%	300	204	84	13	300%
Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	1,068	830	78%	0	765	37	28	300%
Preston	North West	1,062	691	65%	343	236	87	25	300%
Bury	North West	1,051	389	37%	0	317	50	22	300%
Hillingdon	London	1,050	171	16%	0	100	37	34	300%
Wigan	North West	1,035	682	66%	524	101	57	0	200%
Folkestone and Hythe	South East	1,034	582	56%	322	185	55	20	300%
Tendring	East of England	1,033	552	53%	0	488	50	14	300%
Kingston upon Thames	London	1,029	685	67%	463	132	72	18	300%
Amber Valley	East Midlands	1,028	0	0%	0	0	0	0	None
Bassetlaw	East Midlands	994	157	16%	0	86	35	36	100%
Bath and North East Somerset	South West	974	635	65%	447	106	53	29	300%
Islington	London	973	325	33%	0	270	46	9	300%
Redcar and Cleveland	North East	957	588	61%	242	225	76	45	300%
Hastings	South East	947	524	55%	0	443	69	12	300%
Cotswold	South West	938	425	45%	0	417	5	3	300%
Wandsworth	London	936	233	25%	0	205	19	9	300%
West Suffolk	East of England	917	462	50%	238	138	42	44	300%
Bedford	East of England	910	495	54%	277	134	59	25	300%
Portsmouth	South East	904	290	32%	61	168	37	24	300%
Swindon	South West	903	339	38%	157	139	28	15	300%
South Tyneside	North East	902	345	38%	0	204	82	59	300%
Oxford	South East	894	605	68%	0	554	39	12	300%
Newark and Sherwood	East Midlands	892	408	46%	0	336	48	24	300%
Charnwood	East Midlands	890	192	22%	1	140	34	17	300%
Isle of Wight	South East	884	462	52%	249	166	32	15	300%
Sutton	London	876	563	64%	213	294	43	13	300%
Knowsley	North West	865	220	25%	88	102	23	7	300%
Lancaster	North West	861	424	49%	190	172	37	25	300%
Reading	South East	859	474	55%	284	147	33	10	300%
Mid Sussex	South East	850	273	32%	0	154	62	57	300%
South Norfolk	East of England	848	165	19%	0	145	16	4	300%
North Tyneside	North East	846	458	54%	0	385	47	26	300%
Dover	South East	838	428	51%	151	228	35	14	300%
Ealing	London	838	531	63%	0	454	48	29	300%
West Lindsey	East Midlands	832	217	26%	0	135	41	41	300%
Salford	North West	831	529	64%	251	212	48	18	300%
Warrington	North West	827	385	47%	204	136	26	19	300%
Blackburn with Darwen	North West	824	302	37%	0	227	55	20	300%
Wychavon	West Midlands	818	241	29%	0	241	0	0	100%
Oldham	North West	815	511	63%	0	395	59	57	300%
New Forest	South East	812	366	45%	192	112	44	18	300%
Hammersmith and Fulham	London	811	474	58%	122	282	53	17	300%
Chelmsford	East of England	803	326	41%	151	135	22	18	300%
Warwick	West Midlands	799	403	50%	0	329	57	17	300%
Stafford	West Midlands	798	437	55%	0	362	63	12	300%
Darlington	North East	784	241	31%	173	51	7	10	300%
Nuneaton and Bedworth	West Midlands	779	336	43%	156	104	57	19	300%
Thurrock	East of England	774	417	54%	236	120	44	17	300%
Great Yarmouth	East of England	768	374	49%	0	318	39	17	300%
Basildon	East of England	765	233	30%	107	95	22	9	300%
North Norfolk	East of England	759	457	60%	268	139	39	11	300%
West Berkshire	South East	755	456	60%	0	420	20	16	300%
North Somerset	South West	750	406	54%	291	82	26	7	300%
Bolsover	East Midlands	742	0	0%	0	0	0	0	None
Waverley	South East	727	310	43%	110	135	53	12	300%
Rugby	West Midlands	726	117	16%	0	117	0	0	100%
Telford and Wrekin	West Midlands	723	453	63%	0	405	38	10	300%
Lincoln	East Midlands	721	277	38%	0	237	24	16	300%
Southend-on-Sea	East of England	715	419	59%	224	137	34	24	300%
Chesterfield	East Midlands	714	209	29%	0	138	43	28	50%
Colchester	East of England	714	289	40%	141	93	34	21	300%
Cheltenham	South West	710	348	49%	166	122	54	6	300%
West Lancashire	North West	710	397	56%	257	46	50	44	300%
Maidstone	South East	709	318	45%	165	107	36	10	300%
Elmbridge	South East	707	380	54%	173	164	34	9	300%
Guildford	South East	705	269	38%	0	209	43	17	300%
Richmond upon Thames	London	703	367	52%	0	309	49	9	300%
Erewash	East Midlands	694	372	54%	0	304	40	28	300%
Sevenoaks	South East	694	397	57%	148	220	22	7	300%
Cambridge	East of England	692	103	15%	32	58	12	1	300%
Hertsmere	East of England	674	293	43%	118	118	42	15	300%
Reigate and Banstead	South East	674	544	81%	253	253	30	8	300%
North East Derbyshire	East Midlands	673	200	30%	0	115	52	33	100%
Wealden	South East	672	281	42%	125	114	26	16	300%
Worcester	West Midlands	672	155	23%	0	115	34	6	300%
Newcastle-under-Lyme	West Midlands	671	381	57%	196	120	44	21	300%
Stroud	South West	671	264	39%	108	123	20	13	300%
Dacorum	East of England	666	83	12%	0	57	17	9	300%
Exeter	South West	664	268	40%	129	94	32	13	300%
Epping Forest	East of England	661	375	57%	207	136	23	9	300%
Bexley	London	649	443	68%	110	266	48	19	300%
Arun	South East	641	260	41%	185	49	21	5	300%
Fylde	North West	640	137	21%	0	106	22	9	300%
High Peak	East Midlands	640	293	46%	0	234	37	22	300%
Breckland	East of England	639	307	48%	161	91	29	26	300%
Pendle	North West	639	382	60%	182	141	35	24	300%
Broadland	East of England	634	101	16%	0	75	19	7	300%
South Gloucestershire	South West	631	289	46%	0	260	18	11	300%
Brentwood	East of England	628	148	24%	0	121	16	11	300%
Norwich	East of England	627	354	56%	242	63	35	14	300%
Tunbridge Wells	South East	626	267	43%	168	72	15	12	300%
East Hertfordshire	East of England	614	164	27%	0	106	27	31	300%
St Albans	East of England	614	91	15%	0	73	12	6	300%
North Devon	South West	611	295	48%	0	256	23	16	300%
West Oxfordshire	South East	610	260	43%	0	245	13	2	300%
Ashfield	East Midlands	608	277	46%	238	0	18	21	300%
Basingstoke and Deane	South East	601	296	49%	0	242	22	32	300%
Burnley	North West	597	381	64%	193	142	38	8	300%
North Kesteven	East Midlands	592	305	52%	0	274	15	16	300%
Woking	South East	590	347	59%	189	137	16	5	300%
North Hertfordshire	East of England	589	293	50%	0	265	15	13	300%
Halton	North West	585	217	37%	80	99	19	19	300%
Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	583	301	52%	0	233	32	36	300%
Cherwell	South East	582	284	49%	130	114	28	12	300%
Malvern Hills	West Midlands	580	160	28%	0	160	0	0	100%
Swale	South East	579	236	41%	115	86	23	12	300%
Broxtowe	East Midlands	576	267	46%	0	226	23	18	300%
East Staffordshire	West Midlands	571	314	55%	130	112	44	28	300%
Surrey Heath	South East	565	369	65%	0	340	27	2	300%
Teignbridge	South West	565	203	36%	81	89	20	13	300%
Fenland	East of England	564	223	40%	107	78	32	6	300%
Fareham	South East	563	321	57%	108	170	35	8	300%
Mansfield	East Midlands	558	131	23%	0	89	30	12	300%
Gloucester	South West	556	239	43%	134	85	13	7	300%
Castle Point	East of England	551	0	0%	0	0	0	0	None
Gedling	East Midlands	549	241	44%	0	203	22	16	300%
South Holland	East Midlands	548	158	29%	0	111	31	16	300%
East Devon	South West	547	270	49%	168	80	17	5	300%
Uttlesford	East of England	538	192	36%	0	137	42	13	100%
Worthing	South East	537	234	44%	138	74	18	4	300%
Welwyn Hatfield	East of England	532	312	59%	157	88	62	5	300%
Chorley	North West	523	291	56%	133	113	20	25	300%
Solihull	West Midlands	513	391	76%	259	94	29	9	300%
Hartlepool	North East	512	492	96%	0	406	65	21	300%
Chichester	South East	510	238	47%	151	48	17	22	300%
Rushcliffe	East Midlands	510	275	54%	119	112	28	16	300%
Mid Suffolk	East of England	503	274	54%	126	98	36	14	300%
Watford	East of England	501	193	39%	0	176	14	3	300%
Forest of Dean	South West	497	143	29%	0	123	12	8	300%
Huntingdonshire	East of England	491	184	37%	0	119	44	21	300%
Dartford	South East	489	261	53%	134	116	4	7	300%
Wokingham	South East	484	304	63%	204	73	20	7	300%
Torridge	South West	482	228	47%	113	74	33	8	300%
Harlow	East of England	472	264	56%	0	264	0	0	100%
Tonbridge and Malling	South East	469	258	55%	0	214	35	9	300%
East Cambridgeshire	East of England	463	259	56%	123	99	23	14	300%
Spelthorne	South East	458	96	21%	0	67	21	8	300%
Lichfield	West Midlands	453	306	68%	139	97	54	16	300%
South Kesteven	East Midlands	449	169	38%	0	129	24	16	300%
South Staffordshire	West Midlands	447	84	19%	0	53	20	11	300%
Vale of White Horse	South East	446	142	32%	0	109	24	9	300%
North Warwickshire	West Midlands	435	134	31%	0	64	46	24	50%
South Hams	South West	434	302	70%	254	19	20	9	300%
South Oxfordshire	South East	434	146	34%	0	101	33	12	300%
Hyndburn	North West	432	240	56%	111	85	29	15	300%
South Derbyshire	East Midlands	426	116	27%	0	77	31	8	300%
Rochford	East of England	422	165	39%	54	57	23	31	300%
Babergh	East of England	421	218	52%	93	94	21	10	300%
North West Leicestershire	East Midlands	418	130	31%	0	81	34	15	300%
South Ribble	North West	415	236	57%	111	99	16	10	300%
Eastleigh	South East	414	172	42%	61	94	12	5	300%
Derbyshire Dales	East Midlands	412	214	52%	0	118	30	66	300%
Ipswich	East of England	411	246	60%	0	218	19	9	300%
Barking and Dagenham	London	410	76	19%	0	61	6	9	300%
Winchester	South East	406	180	44%	86	79	8	7	300%
Horsham	South East	405	206	51%	95	78	24	9	300%
East Hampshire	South East	403	74	18%	0	48	17	9	300%
Slough	South East	401	147	37%	20	67	58	2	300%
Hinckley and Bosworth	East Midlands	383	90	23%	0	68	18	4	300%
Ashford	South East	378	186	49%	106	40	36	4	300%
Bracknell Forest	South East	377	265	70%	100	60	52	53	100%
Bromsgrove	West Midlands	375	178	47%	0	142	28	8	300%
Eastbourne	South East	373	208	56%	97	71	27	13	300%
Cannock Chase	West Midlands	372	196	53%	0	158	25	13	300%
Boston	East Midlands	371	150	40%	0	99	34	17	300%
Harborough	East Midlands	367	100	27%	0	65	22	13	300%
Broxbourne	East of England	361	69	19%	1	58	10	0	100%
Rossendale	North West	349	150	43%	0	101	24	25	300%
Ribble Valley	North West	339	0	0%	0	0	0	0	None
Gravesham	South East	337	0	0%	0	0	0	0	None
Redditch	West Midlands	316	134	42%	0	120	10	4	300%
Maldon	East of England	314	157	50%	80	49	16	12	300%
Epsom and Ewell	South East	311	49	16%	0	30	9	10	300%
Runnymede	South East	311	231	74%	65	119	27	20	300%
Gosport	South East	309	159	51%	79	43	22	15	300%
Mid Devon	South West	307	290	94%	186	50	37	17	300%
Mole Valley	South East	307	161	52%	71	62	17	11	300%
Test Valley	South East	307	28	9%	0	14	8	6	300%
Adur	South East	304	167	55%	74	80	12	1	300%
Wyre Forest	West Midlands	298	168	56%	79	68	14	7	300%
Rother	South East	293	164	56%	0	118	30	16	300%
Blaby	East Midlands	289	51	18%	0	33	12	6	100%
Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	282	165	59%	0	124	25	16	300%
Three Rivers	East of England	275	52	19%	0	32	0	20	300%
Stevenage	East of England	273	88	32%	0	34	47	7	50%
Wyre	North West	273	20	7%	0	20	0	0	100%
Rutland	East Midlands	269	84	31%	0	70	13	1	300%
Tamworth	West Midlands	267	77	29%	0	44	21	12	50%
Lewes	South East	260	130	50%	61	37	20	12	300%
Rushmoor	South East	259	35	14%	0	25	3	7	300%
Hart	South East	254	112	44%	0	61	40	11	50%
Crawley	South East	253	85	34%	51	19	8	7	300%
West Devon	South West	246	173	70%	135	15	21	2	300%
Tewkesbury	South West	228	182	80%	0	159	11	12	300%
Havant	South East	218	73	33%	0	53	7	13	200%
Melton	East Midlands	174	93	53%	45	32	14	2	300%
Tandridge	South East	159	68	43%	0	32	15	21	300%
City of London	London	152	121	80%	0	114	4	3	300%
Isles of Scilly	South West	33	21	64%	7	3	11	0	100%

Read with care

Some councils could not separate homes empty for 1 to 2 years from those empty for 2 to 5 years, so they reported them all as 2 to 5 years. For those councils the 1–2 year column shows 0 and the 2–5 year column holds both.
The government says its figures for homes empty 5 to 10 years and over 10 years that are charged a 100% premium are “under investigation”.
The figures are what each council reported for 6 October 2025. A council can charge less than the maximum, or no premium at all, and can grant exceptions.
England only. Wales and Scotland set their own rules on empty homes and council tax.

Source: Council Taxbase 2025: local authority level data (Empty Properties and Council Taxbase tables), Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Open Government Licence.

When does the extra council tax start?

In England, since 1 April 2024 a council can charge the long-term empty homes premium once a home has been empty and substantially unfurnished for at least one year. Before that the wait was two years. How much extra depends on how long the home has been empty:

Empty 1 to 5 years: up to 100% extra, so up to double the normal bill.
Empty 5 to 10 years: up to 200% extra, up to three times the bill.
Empty 10 years or more: up to 300% extra, up to four times the bill.

These are maximums. Each council decides whether to charge the premium and how much, which is why the table above varies so much, so check with yours. There are exceptions, including homes being marketed for sale or to let, homes undergoing major repairs, and homes of someone who has died while probate is sorted out (below). See GOV.UK: second homes and empty properties.

What executors of an empty inherited house can do

While no grant of probate or letters of administration has been issued, the empty home of someone who has died is usually exempt from council tax (known as a Class F exemption). The exemption can continue for up to 6 months after the grant while the home stays empty and unsold and is still in the name of the person who died.

Since 1 April 2025 in England, a council cannot charge the empty homes premium for 12 months from the grant. After that, full council tax applies, and the premium may too if the home has been empty long enough and your council charges it.

Practical steps

Tell the council promptly that the owner has died and the home is empty, and ask it to apply the exemption.
Keep evidence: the date of death, the date of the grant, and when the home was last lived in and cleared.
Decide early whether to sell, let or transfer the house to a beneficiary, so the decision is made before the exemption ends and the full bill starts.
If you are selling, start before the premium bites. You can market the house and agree a sale before the grant arrives; see how long probate takes and selling a probate property.

HouseBought4Cash buys inherited houses for cash where the numbers work, most often in and around Greater Manchester, in any condition and before or after probate. Where we can’t, and with your consent, we introduce you to a cash buyer or auction house that covers your area and tell you who. Selling an inherited house explains the options.

Empty homes and council tax: your questions answered

303,185 homes in England had been empty for more than six months on 6 October 2025, according to the government's Council Taxbase 2025 figures. 152,928 of them (50%) were being charged the empty homes premium.

In England, since 1 April 2024 councils can charge the premium once a home has been empty and substantially unfurnished for at least one year (it used to be two). The extra charge can be up to 100% for homes empty 1 to 5 years, up to 200% from 5 years and up to 300% from 10 years. Each council decides whether to charge it and how much, so check with yours.

Not usually, while you wait for probate. GOV.UK says that if you are selling a property on behalf of an owner who has died, you do not need to pay council tax until after probate is granted, as long as it stays empty. After the grant you may get a further exemption of up to 6 months if the home is unoccupied and still in the name of the person who died.

Not straight away. In England, since 1 April 2025 a council cannot charge the empty homes premium for up to 12 months from the grant of probate or letters of administration. After that, full council tax applies and the premium may too, depending on how long the home has been empty and what your council charges.

Sources

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Council Taxbase 2025 in England, published 6 November 2025, revised 21 January 2026; local authority data from the local authority level workbook.
GOV.UK, Council Tax: second homes and empty properties (the empty homes premium, its exceptions, and council tax after an owner dies).
MHCLG, Council Tax information letter 5/2024: exceptions to council tax premiums (the exceptions, including 12 months from the grant of probate, have effect from 1 April 2025).

This page gives general information about council tax in England. It is not legal or tax advice, and your council can confirm what applies to a particular home.

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