A gap between selling one home and moving into the next, or a slow renovation before moving in, can trigger a council tax premium if the property sits empty long enough. The rules for when that premium kicks in, and how large it can get, are set separately in England, Wales and Scotland, and they have all changed in the last few years.
England: a one-year trigger since April 2024
The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 changed the threshold at which English councils can apply an empty-homes premium, reducing it from two years to one year of a property being unoccupied and substantially unfurnished. Official government guidance confirms this took effect from 1 April 2024. Under the current structure, councils can charge up to a 100% premium once a home has been empty for between one and five years, rising to up to 200% between five and ten years, and up to 300% once a property has been empty for more than ten years, with the exact percentage within those limits left to each council’s discretion. A property that becomes occupied or furnished for six weeks or less does not reset the empty-homes clock. Nine mandatory exception classes protect certain owners, including homes actively being marketed for sale or let for up to 12 months, homes within 12 months of a grant of probate, and properties undergoing major repair or structural work for up to 12 months, all of which are common situations during a move.
Wales: discretionary, capped at 300% since 2023
Wales runs its own framework under sections 12A and 12B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, inserted by the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, which gives local authorities a discretionary power rather than a mandatory one. A long-term empty dwelling in Wales is one that has been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for a continuous period of at least one year, with the same six-week furnishing-or-occupation exception used in England. Welsh authorities were first able to apply a premium of up to 100% from April 2017, and the maximum was raised to up to 300% from 1 April 2023. Because the power is discretionary, whether a premium applies, and at what rate within the cap, depends entirely on the individual council’s own policy.
Scotland: a 12-month threshold with a renovation exception
Scotland’s regime runs through the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.) (Scotland) Act 2012 and the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Regulations 2013, which from 2013 allowed local authorities to charge an empty-homes premium of up to 100% once a property had been empty for 12 months. A 2023 change introduced a specific exception: the premium cannot be applied where a property has been empty for at least 12 months, has been bought by a new owner within the past six months, and is undergoing repairs or renovation intended to bring it back into use, which is directly relevant to a buyer who moves in only after completing works on a newly purchased empty home.
Why this matters mid-move
The most common trigger during an ordinary house move is not a long void period but bridging gaps: a completed purchase left empty while renovation work is finished, or a departing property left unoccupied and unfurnished while a sale drags on. Because all three nations now measure from around the one-year mark rather than two, a chain delay or a longer-than-planned renovation can bring a premium into play faster than movers might expect, and the specific exception that applies, if any, depends on which nation the property is in.
Common questions
Does the premium apply the moment a property is empty, or only after the full year? It applies once the property has been continuously unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for the full threshold period; a shorter void does not trigger it, though the standard empty-property discount rules that applied before these premiums still vary by council.
Can moving furniture in briefly stop the clock? In England and Wales, occupation or furnishing for six weeks or less does not reset the long-term empty status, so a brief visit to drop off boxes will not avoid the premium once the underlying threshold has otherwise been met.
Is there a national list of which councils charge the maximum rate? No single national list exists; because the power is discretionary in all three nations, the applicable rate has to be checked with the specific local authority for the property in question.
The bottom line
England, Wales and Scotland each run their own empty-homes council tax premium regime, and all three now use a one-year (or 12-month) threshold rather than the two years that applied previously. England’s stepped structure, in force from 1 April 2024, runs up to 300% for homes empty more than ten years, with several mandatory exceptions including active marketing and probate. Wales caps its discretionary premium at 300% since April 2023, applied council by council. Scotland caps its premium at 100%, with a 2023 exception protecting newly purchased properties under active renovation. Anyone leaving a property empty during a move should check which of these regimes and exceptions applies to their specific address and timeline.
Sources
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, “Guidance on the implementation of the council tax premiums on long-term empty homes and second homes”
- Welsh Government, “Council Tax on empty and second homes”
- Scottish Government, “Local government finance circular 6/2026: council tax on second and long-term empty homes guidance”