Empty Home Grants in London: What's Available, Where & How Much
Fifteen of London's 33 councils (the 32 boroughs and the City of London) advertise an empty homes grant on their own websites. Where a council publishes a limit for one home, it is usually between £15,000 and £40,000.
The grant almost always comes with a string attached. For a set number of years, usually three to five years, you let the home to tenants the council chooses, and some councils cap the rent. Most councils also say the money is limited or at their discretion.
Article updated: October 2026
Twenty councils advertise a scheme to lease or license the home from you and pay rent, though some, such as Newham, publish few details. Croydon, Enfield and Southwark lend money for the works.
For how many homes stand empty in each London borough, see the UK-wide empty home statistics.
Council websites checked: 11 October 2026.

A List of Councils in London and their Empty Home Grants
Here is every London council, A to Z, with the grants, loans and lease schemes its own website advertised when we checked. None of the council pages we checked publishes a list of empty homes, and what you can do instead is further down the page.
A grant is money you don't pay back, as long as you keep to its conditions. The conditions repeat across London:
- the home has been empty for a minimum period, most often six months
- the works bring it up to a decent standard, and often need approval before they start
- the council, or a housing partner, chooses the tenants, usually for three to five years, and some councils cap the rent
- sell during that period and several councils want the grant back
Where the rent is capped, it is often at Local Housing Allowance, the rates used to work out housing benefit for tenants renting privately.
The fifteen councils in this table are the ones whose own websites advertise an empty homes grant as on offer, including Lambeth and Tower Hamlets, which give no amount. "Not stated" means the council's page doesn't say.
Four other councils mention grants but aren't counted. Bexley's 2023 housing assistance policy allows grants case by case, but doesn't say money is available now. Hillingdon says repair grants "may be available". Sutton and Havering publish no grant amounts or detailed conditions. Westminster proposed a pilot grant in December 2025, and its status hasn't been published.
| Council | Maximum grant per home | Minimum time empty | Lease or nomination years | Repaid if sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnet | £40,000 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Brent | 50% to 70% of the works, up to £6,500 per person housed | Not stated | 3 or 5 (the page gives both) | Not stated |
| Camden | £15,000 to £40,000, by size | Not stated (see entry) | 3 | Yes, within 3 years |
| Ealing | £15,000 for the first home | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Greenwich | £15,000 (policy: up to £20,000; £50,000 for an HMO) | Not stated | 3 (4 for a larger grant) | May be, with interest, if conditions are broken |
| Harrow | £15,000 (£10,000 Repair to Lease) | Not stated | 3 (2 for Repair to Lease) | Not stated |
| Kingston | £25,000 | 6 months | 5 | Yes, within 5 years |
| Lambeth | Not stated | Not stated | An agreed lease period | Not stated |
| Lewisham | £30,000 (£9,000 for a studio) | 6 months | 5 | Not stated |
| Merton | £25,000 | 6 months | 5 | Not stated |
| Redbridge | 50% of repairs, no cash limit stated | Over 6 months | Not stated | Not stated |
| Richmond | £25,000 (1 to 3 bedrooms) | Not stated | 5 | Not stated |
| Southwark | £40,000 (3 bedrooms or more), 50% of costs | 6 months, normally | 3 | Yes, within 3 years |
| Tower Hamlets | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Wandsworth | £25,000 (1 to 3 bedrooms) | 6 months | 5 | Not stated |
A lease scheme works differently. The council, or a partner working for it, takes the home for a fixed term, houses a local family, manages the tenancy and pays you rent. Many of these schemes say the rent is guaranteed even while the home is empty.
Twenty councils advertise a scheme like this. Barking and Dagenham (which leases only through its managing agents) and Hammersmith and Fulham (which points to schemes without giving terms) aren't in that twenty.
I've let a property to a council on a long-term lease. The rent was always paid on time, there were no management problems, and the property came back in good condition when the lease ended. It was a really good experience. That was one property and one council, though. Each scheme sets its own rules on the length of the lease, the rent and who pays for repairs.
These offers change, and every grant depends on money being left in the pot.
Pick a council from the list to jump straight to its entry.
- Barking and Dagenham
- Barnet
- Bexley
- Brent
- Bromley
- Camden
- City of London
- Croydon
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Greenwich
- Hackney
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Haringey
- Harrow
- Havering
- Hillingdon
- Hounslow
- Islington
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Kingston upon Thames
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Merton
- Newham
- Redbridge
- Richmond upon Thames
- Southwark
- Sutton
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest
- Wandsworth
- City of Westminster
Barking and Dagenham Council
Grant: none found on its pages, and no loan either.
Lease: the council leases homes only through the managing agents it contracts with. It says plainly that it doesn't lease directly from individual landlords. For an individual owner, its Rent Deposit Scheme offers rent in advance, a deposit and incentives for tenancies of around 24 months.
For prices and rents across the borough, see our guide to Barking's property market.
Barnet Council
Grant: Barnet advertises Empty Property Grants of up to £40,000, subject to funding. They are open to landlords, and to key workers buying an empty home. A landlord who takes the grant lets the home through Let2Barnet, the council's letting service.
Owner-occupiers returning home from care, and key workers, can get around £20,000. The council's page says £20,000 in one place and £21,000 in another, so ask which figure applies.
Lease: Let2Barnet advertises guaranteed rent for up to five years, paid monthly in advance, even while the home is empty, and full management of the property and tenants. It is looking for two, three and four-bedroom homes.
Also: for a £75 charge, the council will confirm in writing that a home has been empty for two years or more, for the 5% VAT rate on renovation.
Our guide to Barnet's property market has yields and prices by postcode.
Bexley Council
Grant and loan: Bexley's housing assistance policy allows grants and loans for empty homes, with the amount agreed case by case. In return you lease the home to the council for three years, or let it to key workers. You need the freehold or at least five years left on the lease. A loan is paid back by taking a fixed amount off the rent. The policy doesn't say whether money is available now.
Letting help: the Let2Bex scheme finds tenants and gives a free inventory and tenancy agreement. It covers damage and rent arrears up to a set amount, and pays a one-off bonus if the tenancy is renewed after 12 months. Rent is at Local Housing Allowance rates.
Brent Council
Grant: Brent runs three empty homes grants, none of them means tested, and companies can apply as well as individuals. They work like this:
- Refurbishment grant: 50% of the works for a one-bedroom home, 60% for two bedrooms and 70% for three or more, capped at £6,500 for each person the home can house. You get whichever figure is lower.
- Conversion grant: for splitting a large empty home into smaller ones, or turning commercial space into homes. Full planning consent is needed.
- Commercial grant: up to £156,000 for four or more homes, or £39,000 for each three-bedroom home, and no more than 70% of the reasonable cost of the works.
The page gives both three and five years for the letting agreement that comes with a grant, so ask which applies.
Lease: Brent's landlord pages advertise two schemes. The Housing Association Lease Scheme offers a three to five-year lease with guaranteed rent and management by a housing association. Through Brent Direct Leasing, the council offers guaranteed rent on renewable three to five-year leases, with no management fees and incentives, for homes rated EPC D or better.
See our guide to Brent's property market for local prices and rents.

Bromley Council
Grant: the council says it offers none. Its previous empty homes funding schemes have closed, and it is reviewing its empty homes policy.
Letting help: Bromley Lettings recruits landlords across London and nearby areas. It offers a cash incentive, no fees, a free photographic inventory and support during the tenancy. It doesn't advertise guaranteed rent or a council lease.
Prices and yields are in our guide to Bromley's property market.
Camden Council
Grant: Camden's empty property grant pays up to these limits, whichever is lower:
- £15,000 for a bedsit, studio or one-bedroom home
- £30,000 for a two-bedroom home
- £40,000 for three bedrooms or more
- £80,000 for a whole building
Camden's page says the property "must not have been intentionally left vacant for at least 12 months prior to the date of application". It's worth asking Camden how it applies that to a home that has stood empty a long time. If you own a leasehold, the lease needs at least ten years left to run. For three years the home is let to tenants the council nominates; if the council doesn't need the home, you let it at Local Housing Allowance rent. Sell within those three years and the grant is repaid.
You also need to join the council's landlord accreditation scheme, hold any licence the home needs, and bring it up to the council's property standards.
Other landlord grants: a security grant (up to £500 per let or £5,000 per building) and an energy efficiency grant that matches landlord spending up to £10,000 per building.
Letting help: Camden Lettings finds tenants, pays a cash incentive and charges no letting fees. It isn't a lease scheme and doesn't guarantee the rent.
For local yields, see Camden's property market.
City of London
Grant and lease: none found on the City of London Corporation's housing pages, either a grant, a loan or a lease scheme. That isn't the same as the Corporation saying none exists.
Croydon Council
Grant: the council says its empty property grant is currently not available.
Loan: the same page offers loans of up to £40,000 for homes with at least two bedrooms, over a maximum of two years. It doesn't give an interest rate or a minimum time empty.
Letting help: Croydon's letting service finds tenants and pays an incentive of up to £5,500, with no letting fees and rent at Local Housing Allowance rates. No council lease scheme was found.
More on Croydon's property market, including prices by postcode.
Ealing Council
Grant: Ealing's empty property grant can pay up to 100% of the works, capped at £15,000 for the first home and less for each one after that, subject to funding. The home must then be let through a council scheme. Works need approval before they start and must finish within 12 months.
The grant can pay for six kinds of work:
- disrepair and structural problems
- damp and mould
- rewiring
- keeping the heat in, such as windows, boiler work and insulation
- kitchens and bathrooms
- major health and safety hazards
If a home's structural faults are why it has stood empty, this grant pays towards fixing them. If you would rather sell, our guide on selling due to structural problems explains how.
Lease: Ealing advertises guaranteed monthly rent on its private sector lease, up to the Local Housing Allowance rate, and pays £500 upfront for each year of the lease, with no letting or management fees. You stay responsible for repairs.
Yields and prices are in our guide to Ealing's property market.

Enfield Council
Loan: Enfield doesn't offer a grant you keep. Its empty homes page says the council may pay for the renovation interest free and take the money back out of the rent. In return the council chooses the tenant for at least three years, and it offers guaranteed rent and management. No maximum amount or minimum time empty is published.
Lease: Enfield's long lease runs for ten years and one day, and a two to five-year lease is also on offer. The council offers guaranteed rent and management with no fees on both. If the home stands empty while works are done, Enfield takes a deduction from the rent for that time, but doesn't charge it if the works finish on time.
The long lease has a three-month break clause on both sides, so it isn't a fixed ten years: you or the council can end it on three months' notice. So if you purchase a property investment and lease it to Enfield, you could still get it back on three months' notice.
Letting help: the Landlord Incentive Scheme charges no commission and pays up to £6,000 upfront. Enfield Let is closed to new landlords.
For local prices, see Enfield's property market.
Royal Borough of Greenwich
Grant: Greenwich offers a private landlord home improvement grant of up to £15,000 for each house or flat. It is for landlords' buy-to-let properties, and you either lease the home to the council for three years, or take tenants the council finds for at least three years.
For HMO properties the grant goes up to £50,000, worked out as £5,000 per bedsit plus £10,000 for shared areas.
The web page and the council's 2025 policy differ. The policy allows up to £20,000 for a single home, with the conditions lasting four years instead of three, so ask the council which applies. Under the policy, the grant may have to be repaid if the conditions are broken, normally with interest added.
Lease: Greenwich's Landlord Scheme takes homes anywhere in the UK, not just in the borough. On a lease, the council offers to manage the home and guarantee the rent.
See Greenwich's property market for local prices and rents.
Hackney Council
Grant: none found for empty homes. Hackney's empty properties page covers selling, letting and the council's enforcement powers, but doesn't advertise money for owners.
Homeowners: Hackney's renovation grants for owner-occupiers include up to £5,000 for external works and up to £20,000 for general repairs. You need a means-tested benefit or a low income, three years in the home before applying and five years after. The general repairs grant lists roof, guttering, brickwork, damp and window renewal, and our guide to installing new FENSA windows explains the certificate you get when replacement windows go in.
Lease: none found on its pages.
Prices and yields are in our guide to Hackney's property market.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council
Grant: none found on its pages. The council's empty properties page offers no works grant. It can give owners a document showing how long a home has been empty, to help with the 5% VAT rate on renovation.
Lease: the same page points owners to the council's private sector leasing and letting schemes. Their terms weren't on that page.
Haringey Council
Grant: none found on its pages.
Letting help: Haringey's rent through the council service is now a matching service rather than a lease. It pays you a cash incentive that you keep, and charges no fees. The tenancy is directly between you and the tenant, at Local Housing Allowance rent. The council doesn't lease the home or guarantee the rent.
See our guides to Haringey's property market and Tottenham's property market.
Harrow Council
Grant: Harrow has two grants on its empty properties page, both subject to funding:
- Empty Property Grant: up to £15,000, with the home let through Help2Let for three years.
- Repair to Lease Grant: up to £10,000, with the home let through Help2Let for two years.
The money can go on kitchens and bathrooms, the hot water system, rewiring, damp proofing, roofs, rotten windows and doors, and serious hazards such as trip hazards or excess cold.
Lease: Help2Let, the council-owned lettings service, advertises rent paid quarterly in advance on its lease scheme, including while the home is empty, with full management.
Yields and prices are in our guide to Harrow's property market.
Havering Council
Grant: possible, but no amount published. Havering's landlord accreditation page says an accredited landlord "may be eligible for grant aid" to bring an empty home back into use. It gives no amount, and no conditions beyond accreditation.
Lease: the council's 2025 leasing guide describes a guaranteed lease payment, including when the home is empty. The council acts as landlord to the tenant, and the lease length is agreed case by case. An optional repairs plan costs £400 plus VAT a year and covers up to £1,200 of repairs, but not boilers or structural work. Ground rent and service charges stay with you.
For local prices, see Havering's property market and Romford's property market.
Hillingdon Council
Grant: possible. Hillingdon's landlord guidance says repair grants may be available in exchange for the council nominating tenants. You need three quotes and some money of your own, and funding can change quickly. No maximum is published.
Buy or lease: through its buy-back scheme, the council buys long-term empty homes in the borough at market value, or leases them. It doesn't publish the lease length or say the rent is guaranteed.
Hounslow Council
Grant: none found on its pages.
Lease: Hounslow advertises guaranteed rent paid in advance on its private sector lease, even when the home is empty, for a lease of at least two years. The council handles the day-to-day management and charges no agency fees. It wants family-sized homes in the borough. You stay responsible for structural repairs, heating, appliances and safety checks.
Our guide to Hounslow's property market has local yields.
Islington Council
Grant: the council says it offers none. Islington's empty property page is clear that it is "unable to offer any grants" and will update the page if funding becomes available. It offers advice instead, with legal action as a last resort.
Lease: none found on its pages.
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Grant: no open grant found. The council's empty homes page mentions various schemes and grants, but doesn't name an open grant, an amount or conditions.
Lease: the council's advice for landlords describes two guaranteed-rent schemes:
- Housing Association Leasing Scheme: a housing association manages the home, guarantees the rent even if it is empty, and repairs damage.
- Private Licence Agreement: guaranteed rent through housing associations and agents across London, generally for homes rated EPC D or better with valid safety certificates.
The page doesn't give the length of either agreement. The council's free letting service also finds tenants, with no fees and a financial incentive.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Grant: Kingston's empty property grant pays up to £25,000 if you rent the home to the council through its Private Leasing Scheme. To qualify, the home must:
- be in the borough and have been empty for at least six months
- fail the government's decent homes standard
- if it is a former council home, have been lived in for at least five years since the council sold it
The grant isn't means tested, but you pay for any works it doesn't cover. The home is then let through the scheme for five years at an affordable rent, and the whole grant is repaid if you sell within five years or break the conditions.
Homeowners: a separate home improvement grant of up to £10,000, or an interest-free loan, is for homeowners on benefits or low incomes, not landlords.
Lease: on Kingston's lease scheme the council becomes your tenant for one to three years and manages the home, and it offers guaranteed rent with no loss when the home is empty. The grant page asks for five years through the scheme, so ask the council how the two fit together.
Lambeth Council
Grant: Lambeth offers an Empty Property Renovation Grant for significant repairs. In exchange, you lease the home to the council for an agreed period to house its tenants. No amount is published.
Also: the same page offers help with letting, and support if you would rather sell.
See our guide to Lambeth's property market for prices by postcode.
Lewisham Council
Grant: Lewisham's empty property grant pays 50% of the eligible works, fees included, up to £30,000 for each home and £60,000 for one scheme (a project covering several homes). Studios are capped at £9,000 each. It isn't means tested. The main conditions are:
- the home has been empty for at least six months in a row
- a leaseholder has at least seven years left on the lease
- the council gets nomination rights over the home for five years
- the grant is recorded as a local land charge, a note on the council's register that shows up when the home is sold
It can also pay for energy works to reach EPC C, and for turning commercial space into homes. The council's current grants policy no longer lists the empty property loan or private landlord grant it used to offer.
Lease: Lewisham's lease scheme runs for three to nine years. The council advertises rent guaranteed for all 52 weeks of the year, full management, no fees and no loss of rent when the home is empty.
More on Lewisham's property market, including yields.
Merton Council
Grant: Merton's empty homes grant pays up to £25,000 per home, and a building split into self-contained flats can get one grant per flat. Grants are at the council's discretion. To qualify, all of these must be true:
- the home has been empty for at least six months
- it is the type of home in demand for social renting
- you haven't faced enforcement action as a landlord
- you agree to let it to tenants nominated by the council or its partners for five years
Letting help: Merton's landlord page introduces tenants and offers cash incentives and deposit help. It doesn't offer a council lease.
Prices and yields are in our guide to Merton's property market.
Newham Council
Grant: none found on its pages.
Lease: Newham's empty properties page says the council may take the home on a lease, with guaranteed rent and financial incentives. It doesn't publish the lease length, rent or terms.
Letting help: through PRS Solutions, the council finds tenants and pays incentives based on size and location. It advertises no commission and one year's rent guarantee insurance, with rent at Local Housing Allowance level.
For local prices, see Newham's property market.
Redbridge Council
Grant: Redbridge's empty homes grant covers up to 50% of repair costs for a home empty over six months. The amount depends on the number of bedrooms. No cash limit or letting conditions are published.
Lease: Redbridge's lease scheme runs for three to five years through an approved letting agent, who manages the home and inspects it every quarter. There are no fees and the rent is paid regularly, but the page doesn't say the council guarantees it.
See Redbridge's property market for local yields.
Richmond upon Thames Council
Grant: Richmond's landlord page offers up to £25,000 for one, two or three-bedroom empty homes, on a five-year lease to the council.
Lease: two options run alongside it. The private sector lease lasts three and a half years, and the council offers guaranteed monthly rent even when the home is empty, plus management, inspections and maintenance. The Private Letting Agreement lasts two or three years and offers guaranteed rent while you manage the home day to day.
Also: the council's empty properties page helps owners prove a home has been empty for two years, for the lower VAT rate on renovation.
Southwark Council
Grant: Southwark's empty property help page advertises a limited number of grants up to £40,000. Its funding guidance, updated in March 2025, pays 50% of the costs up to these limits:
- £20,000 for a studio or one-bedroom home
- £30,000 for two bedrooms
- £40,000 for three bedrooms or more
The home is let on the social housing market for three years, managed by the council's Social Lettings Agency, a housing association or agent, or by you if you're experienced and take tenants the council sends. There is a £100 admin fee, and the grant is repaid if you sell within three years. The guidance normally asks for six months empty, a building over ten years old and, for leaseholders, at least eight years left on the lease. Approval must come before any work starts.
Loan: the same page advertises fixed-fee loans of up to £70,000, for owners who would rather let privately or move in. They cover 50% of the costs, up to £40,000 for a studio or one-bedroom home, £50,000 for two bedrooms and £70,000 for three or more. The fee runs from £200 to £2,000, and the loan is secured on the property and repaid when you sell, stop using the home as agreed, or default. If you already have a mortgage, your lender has to agree in writing. Each property gets one award only.
Lease: Southwark's Social Lettings Agency offers a lease of up to five years and advertises rent paid even if the home is empty, with day-to-day repairs, no fees and the home handed back empty at the end.
Sutton Council
Grant: no terms published. Sutton's empty properties page says it has a range of powers and grants for owners of empty homes, but gives no amounts or conditions.
Lease: Sutton's private sector leasing scheme takes a home for three to five years to house local families. The council advertises rent paid monthly and guaranteed for the whole lease, even when nobody is living there, with no management fees.
Letting help: the same page advertises a free renting service and cash incentives for landlords of up to £3,600.

Tower Hamlets Council
Grant: advertised, but no current terms. Tower Hamlets' housing grants page offers grants for landlords to bring empty homes back into use, or to turn empty commercial space into homes. It gives no amount. The policy it links to covers 2018 to 2022, so its figures can't be taken as today's.
Lease: through its Private Licence Agreement, the council takes the home on a licence to house homeless families. The council advertises rent paid straight to you and guaranteed while the home is occupied, not while it is empty. Either side can end it with 28 days' notice, and there are no management or introduction fees.
Waltham Forest Council
Grant: none found on its pages.
Letting help: Waltham Forest's private rental scheme pays a cash incentive of up to £10,000 and an annual insurance policy against lost rent and tenant damage. The council offers guaranteed rent while it matches a tenant, and pays for your property licence. Rent is at Local Housing Allowance level. It is a tenant-finding scheme, not a lease.
See Waltham Forest property market for local prices.
Wandsworth Council
Grant: Wandsworth's landlord page offers up to £25,000 for one, two or three-bedroom empty homes, through a five-year lease to the council. The grant leaflet adds these conditions:
- the home has been empty for six months or more
- you own the freehold, or a lease with more than five years left
- the council gets five years' nomination rights, at no more than Local Housing Allowance rent
- each owner can normally get one grant a year, but if several flats are at one address, up to five grants can be paid for them
Lease: the private sector lease lasts three and a half years, and the council offers guaranteed monthly rent and management. The Private Letting Agreement lasts two or three years and offers guaranteed rent while you manage the home.
Yields and prices are in our guide to Wandsworth's property market.
City of Westminster
Grant: none advertised on Westminster's empty homes page, which offers advice, help with the lower VAT rate, and action against problem empty homes. A December 2025 council report proposed a pilot grant for three homes, with five years' nominations at Local Housing Allowance rent. Its current status isn't published.
Lease: none found on its pages.
Whistler Square in Belgravia, part of Westminster, is the most expensive street in London on our sold-price ranking. For prices across the borough, see City of Westminster's property market.
Empty & Derelict Homes Additional Support
Two national tax rules apply when you buy and do up an empty home. One can cut the cost, and one usually doesn't.
Reduced VAT
The one that can help is VAT. Building work on a home is normally charged at the standard rate, but under VAT Notice 708 a builder can charge 5% for renovating a home that nobody has lived in for the two years before the work starts.
It isn't automatic. The builder has to be able to show the home was empty, and some costs stay at the full rate. A letter from the council's empty property officer is enough evidence on its own, and Barnet, Hammersmith and Fulham and Richmond all offer help with it.
Bedsit houses can qualify too. HMRC's list of qualifying homes includes houses split into bedsits, which is how many licensed Houses of Multiple Occupation are laid out.
If a home has been empty for ten years or more and you are doing it up to live in yourself, or for family, there's a separate route. HMRC's DIY housebuilders scheme lets you claim the VAT back after the work, with conditions, and again a letter from the empty property officer is enough to show how long it stood empty.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
There's no stamp duty relief just because a home is run down. HMRC's manual says there's no relief or lower rate for "uninhabitable" properties, and that only a very limited number of homes are genuinely not suitable to live in.
The same HMRC page lists problems that don't count: windows that need replacing, a kitchen taken out before the sale, a boiler that needs replacing, unsafe wiring, damp and structural defects that can be repaired. Get advice on your own purchase before you file the return.
Our calculators work out the normal rates:
- England stamp duty land tax calculator
- Wales stamp duty land tax calculator
- Scotland land and building transaction tax
Government Funding, Council Tax and Empty Home Registers
We found no national grant that an individual owner in London can apply for. The grants on this page all come from councils.
The big national pot is the £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which runs from 2026 to 2036, with up to £11.7 billion for London through the Greater London Authority. It isn't for an owner doing up a home to let privately. It funds affordable homes through the organisations that can bid for it, such as housing associations, councils, developers and charities, and rented homes must have a landlord registered with the Regulator of Social Housing. The Homes England guidance for outside London says that can include empty homes bought or leased and then repaired.
Leaving a home empty costs more than it used to. The government's Council Taxbase 2025 release sets out the premium councils can add to the bill. It can be up to 100% once a home has been empty for a year, a rule in force since April 2024. After five years empty, the most a council can add is 200%. After ten years, it is 300%. Each council chooses whether to charge it, and 291 of 296 councils in England did in 2025.
The same release counts 47,864 homes in London that had been empty for more than six months in 2025.
Councils may also get the power to act earlier. On 27 September 2026 the government announced reforms to empty dwelling management orders, which let a council take over the management of an empty home. The time a home must be empty before an order can be made would fall from two years to six months. The announcement gives no start date.
What an empty home costs while it waits. In my experience, the costs that catch landlords out are the ones that keep running while nobody lives there: the mortgage interest and the council tax. Insurance and maintenance carry on too, and are easy to underestimate.
Is there an empty homes register? Not on any council page we checked, and two councils say outright that they won't share a list. Merton's empty homes page cites its duty of confidentiality to council tax payers and the risk of squatters. Enfield's empty homes page cites data protection.
To find out who owns a particular empty house, HM Land Registry's property search gives a free summary, and £7 buys the title register, which names the owner. You can also report an empty home to the council: Harrow and Merton both give an email address for it on their pages.
Empty council houses for sale? None of the council pages we checked offers empty council homes for sale. Merton, for one, says it no longer owns any council housing, so it holds no information on empty council homes.
To find run-down homes on the open market, our guide shows how to use Rightmove and Zoopla to find houses that need renovation. Our round-up of different property tools covers the apps and browser extensions that help you research one.
Other Regions
Separate guides cover empty homes grants in other parts of England:
- West Midlands Empty Homes Grants
- East Midlands Empty Homes Grants
- North West Empty Home Grants
- England Empty Home Statistics
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