Empty Homes Network

The 2024 Council Taxbase release, has shown that the total number of empty homes in England has increased for the third year in a row.

The annual release of council tax statistics, charts the data of all local authorities across England and includes information on the number of chargeable dwellings, data on properties exempt from council tax as well as statistics on long term empty homes and those charged a level of premium.

Across four of five definitions used to track the numbers of empty homes, the numbers have increased to a level meaning that 4.38% of all dwellings across England are now considered as unoccupied.

Initial analysis of the statistics show the following:

Properties empty less than 6 months

237,202 properties are reported as being empty for 6 months or less, having risen from 219,371 in 2023. This is the highest figure reported since 2019.

Long Term Empty Homes

The number of properties empty for between 6 months and 2 years, has also increased slightly to 265,061, up from 261,474 in the previous year. Not yet at the levels seen since 2020, this is the highest reported figure in the last four years.

Empty Homes Premium

The highest increase across all definitions, the figures reported this year have risen from 75,803 in 2023, to 119,606 in 2024. Continuing the rising trend since the empty homes premium was introduced, this represents a rise of an additional 43,803 properties being charged the premium over the past 12 months.

Unoccupied Exemptions

For 2024, 230,910 properties have been reported to be empty for legitimate reasons under a council tax exemption. Dropping by just over two thousand, this still represents a significant portion of all empty homes reported.

Second Homes

Increasing by 16,552 over the past 12 months, the number of second homes has risen to its highest number seen in the past 6 years. 279,870 properties are now recorded as second homes, rising from 263,318 the previous year.

Local Authority Level Data

Local Authority level data can be found by downloading the Council Taxbase 2024 through the link below, where statistics can also be found on previous years in order to track data and statistics relevant to your local areas.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/council-taxbase-statistics

In previous years, Council Taxbase data has been updated or amended over the course of the months that follow, and we will of course endeavour to report figures as accurately as possible.