Tax 700,000 empty homes in the UK back into use

Posted on February 24 2014

The Guardian rightly points out the scandal of there being at least 700,000 empty properties in the UK this morning.

I first addressed this issue in 2009 for the TUC, and again earlier this year.

We should tax these properties back into use by massively increasing the council tax charge on them. Some would still sit vacant. But many fewer would.

Tax can be a good thing. This is an occasion when it could definitely deliver.

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15 Responses

  1. Simon says:
    February 24 2014 at 9:33 am

    We need LVT urgently! Housing is an utter tragedy. The Spanish ghost towns are a profound insult to decency. When will we stop land and property speculation and see it as a profound evil? No point in tinkering with an empty house tax, Richard, it needs to be a root and branch job, in other words LVT.

  2. larry Levin says:
    February 24 2014 at 11:08 am

    it must be expensive keeping a property empty. I am guessing these must be local authority properties.

  3. Shinsei1967 says:
    February 24 2014 at 12:00 pm

    Of these 700,000, “only” 270,000 have been empty for more than six months. Suggesting that the majority are temporarily empty following death, inability to sell/rent or change of use.

    I believe the government is trying to strengthen local authorities compulsory purchase powers to deal with long term problem empty properties.

    But as someone has pointed out there is a significant opportunity cost in deliberately leaving a property empty. I’m sure there are billionaire expat owners of stupidly expensive Knightsbridge properties may leave them empty, but these will be a small percentage of the total.

  4. Richard says:
    February 24 2014 at 1:00 pm

    Not really sure this is a practical idea…….at the moment people declare homes as empty for Council tax applications and because it does not cost them.

    If you reversed that then people would just claim that they were occupied and how would HMRC know otherwise?

    Married couples saying they lived in a house each to cover the second home, using adult kids for other homes, even creating an AST with say £100 rent a year.

    Are you really suggesting an army of HMRC employees peeping through windows and emptying rubbish bins trying to prove whether people are really living there?

    And what happens with those whose jobs take them abroad?….for a few months, or even a year?……Must they be forced to rent out their homes so they can’t return during their time abroad?

    • Richard Murphy says:
      February 24 2014 at 1:39 pm

      All issues dealt with previously

      • Richard says:
        February 24 2014 at 2:20 pm

        OK, I have just looked at the 2009 article and the TUC document….

        It says that being empty up to a year is fine but it is not clear on what would be classed as occupancy. If I have two houses can I just live in one for a month and then restart the year empty clock?

        If my wife says she lives in the second house for work / lifestyle reasons then is that OK?……..Are they any limits on a low amount lease?

        And there seems to be no info on checking these details or an army of HMRC visiting houses!

        If you have answered these points, can you link me to the answers?

        I think you underestimate the lengths people will go to in order to avoid a 5 times Council tax charge!

      • Richard Murphy says:
        February 24 2014 at 3:04 pm

        This comment has been posted further to point 5 of the comments policy to which attention is drawn.