The latest Council Taxbase statistics published this November show that the number of empty homes in England has risen for the fourth consecutive year.
The data reveals 542,276 empty homes recorded in 2025, an increase of nearly 8% from 502,263 in 2024. When combined with second homes (268,153) and unoccupied exemptions (212,004), the total number of homes not in permanent use has reached over one million (1,022,433). This represents 3.96% of all housing stock, the highest level since 2018.
Trends across the definitions
Empty Homes: Up by 40,000 since last year, continuing the upward trend seen since 2021.
Second Homes: Down slightly from 2024, suggesting modest shifts between categories.
Unoccupied Exemptions: Largely stable over the last three years.
Empty Homes Premium: Properties subject to the council tax premium have risen sharply again to 152,932, more than doubling since 2022, and largely due to the change in time period for which this can be applied.
The breakdown also shows that the number of long-term empty homes (over 6 months) has grown to 309,856, marking a significant year-on-year increase and indicating a deepening challenge in bringing properties back into use.
About the data
The Council Taxbase is compiled annually by local authorities and submitted to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). It records the number and classification of dwellings for council tax purposes as of early October each year, including those classed as empty, second homes, or exempt from council tax. The figures are then published nationally each November.
Local authority level data can be found on the government’s website here.
Further analysis coming soon
A full analysis of this year’s figures, including regional trends, local authority level data and emerging policy insights, will be published by the Empty Homes Network on Tuesday next week at www.ehnetwork.org.uk
