Empty Homes

• Benefits of reusing empty properties
• If you have received a letter from us
• Report an empty property
• Help for Fenland homeowners
• Renovating or refurbishing your property
• Properties empty for one or more years
• Council Tax charges for empty properties
• Suspension of the premium Council Tax charge
• Owners who leave properties empty

Homes that lay empty for a long time are a waste of a scarce resource. With record demands for housing and growing social housing waiting lists, more use must be made of the existing housing stock. Evidence shows that when empty homes are left unmanaged and unmaintained they become subject to vandalism, social issues (including cannabis cultivation) and degradation. This also negatively impacts residents and communities. 

Benefits of reusing empty properties

Reusing empty and derelict properties can:

• greatly improve an area's appearance - boosting people's pride and confidence where they live
• provide a warm, safe haven for a local family
• reduce the opportunity for crimes against the property and person
• attract inward investment, helping the area to be an attractive place to live and work
• reduce the need to build new homes on green field sites

Our Empty Homes Officer is working to help bring long term empty properties back into use. To do this they will work closely with owners, landlords, their representatives and the local community. Their aim is to identify and utilise existing housing, reducing the impact of empty homes on neighbouring residents and highlighting the benefits of reuse to vacant property owners. 

If you own an empty property and want some advice, please contact Lorraine Moore on 07729638832 or email lmoore@fenland.gov.uk.

If you have received a letter from us

To support the Government's initiative to tackle the national housing shortfall, we contact all owners of empty properties annually. It is important you provide accurate information regarding the status of the property, confirming whether it is occupied or empty even though you are paying the council tax.

If the status of your property has changed, please contact Lorraine Moore on 07729638832 or at lmoore@fenland.gov.uk. 

Report an empty property

Please tell us if you are being affected by an empty property in your area. This will allow our Empty Homes Officer to look into the situation. 

Help for Fenland homeowners

Our Empty Homes service offers Fenland homeowners information, advice and support to bring their empty properties back into use. If you own an empty property or have recently purchased one, we can:

• give you a free property assessment
• informally discuss your options
• help you with applications, approvals, lettings and sale processes

You also have the option to take your property to a private rental agency. The National Landlords Association provides useful advice on finding and using a letting agent.

Renovating or refurbishing your property

Sometimes there are tax breaks available for refurbishing empty properties. If you decide to refurbish a property that has been empty for two or more years, the Empty Homes Officer can provide you with a VAT letter which may reduce the VAT. More information can be found on the gov.uk website.

If your property is derelict or in need of significant repair, including structural changes, it may be eligible for removal from council tax. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) are the only government agency that can remove a property from council tax. If you believe your property is derelict or in significant disrepair, please visit the VOA website for more information.

To discuss this further and arrange a visit to assess the property and guide you through the VOA application process please contact Lorraine Moore on 07729638832 or email lmoore@fenland.gov.uk.

Properties empty for one or more years

The empty status of a property moves with the property. If you purchase a property or inherit and do not move in straight away and the property has been empty for one or more years you will be liable for a premium Council Tax charge. 

Council Tax charges for empty properties

Changes to the Council Tax Long Term Empty Homes premium were approved at a meeting of Full Council in February 2024, coming into effect from 1 April 2024. This follows changes to legislation for Council Tax included in the Levelling up and Regeneration Act 2023, which amends the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

• (v) with effect from 1st April 2024, the 200% council tax charge will be payable after 12 months from the date the property becomes empty & unfurnished
• (vi) Council Tax Charges for Second Homes for Fenland Council (vi) with effect from 1st April 2025, a 200% council tax charge will be payable on all second homes.

Find out more information about Council Tax.

Suspension of the premium Council Tax charge

To support owners who have recently acquired a property which has been empty for one or more years, the Council is offering a suspension of the premium Council Tax charge in the following situations.

Major repairs

The government appreciates in some cases a dwelling may require major repair work before it can be occupied. Where a dwelling requires or is undergoing major repairs or is undergoing structural alteration, it may be excepted from the empty home premium for up to 12 months.

This exception only applies on empty homes. This exception cannot apply again unless the dwelling has been sold. If the dwelling is substantially furnished and becomes a second home without a resident, then this exception will end.

Where a property is actively being marketed for sale, or let

The government's intention is not to penalise those who are genuinely trying to bring their dwelling back into use as a sole or main residence. This exception can apply for up to 12 months from the point from which the dwelling has first been marketed for sale or let. The exception will end either when the 12-month period has ended, when the dwelling has been sold or let or when the dwelling is no longer actively marketed for sale or let. The following conditions will apply to this exception:

• the same owner may only make use of the exception for a particular dwelling marketed for sale once
• the exception may be used again for the same dwelling if it has been sold and has a new owner
• the same owner may make use of the exception for dwellings marketed for let multiple times, however, only after the dwelling has been let for a continuous period of at least 6 months since the exception last applied

At the end of the 12-month period, the council may consider the specific circumstances of the owners and whether to use their discretionary powers to extend the exception.

Probate

When a dwelling has been left empty following the death of its owner or occupant, it is exempt from council tax for as long as it remains unoccupied and until probate is granted. Following a grant of probate (or the issue of letters of administration), a further 6 months exemption is possible, so long as the dwelling remains unoccupied and has not been transferred by the executors or administrators to the beneficiaries or sold to anyone else.

Following a grant of probate, the owners of the dwelling may require further time to decide how they will manage the home or sell it. The Regulations provide for a 12-month exception to the premium for both second and empty homes. The 12-month period begins from the point probate is granted or letters of administration have been issued. This runs concurrently with the 6-month exemption. This exception will run for 12 months or until the dwelling has changed owner by being sold.

At the end of the 12-month period, the council may consider the specific circumstances of the owners and whether to use their discretionary powers to extend the exception.

Owners who leave properties empty

Enforcement is used as a last resort. However, it may be necessary when:

• a home has been abandoned; or
• the owner can't be traced; or
• we can't agree a voluntary solution with the owner

In cases of extreme dereliction, urban blight or structural instability, we must act to protect the health and safety of our residents. We can:

• serve a Compulsory Purchase Order on the property
• serve Improvement Notices. This is to make the owner bring their property up to the current housing standards
• notify Building Control of dangerous structures
• apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order. This enables us to take over the management of the property for up to 7 years, carry out remedial works and use the property to reduce housing need within the area
• enforce the sale of a property
• serve a Demolition Order. This is when the property deems repair to be disproportionate