Empty house costing you double in council tax? Sell it fast — as it stands.
Councils can charge a premium on a home that has sat empty for a year or more, and the longer it stays empty the bigger the bill. We buy empty houses for cash exactly as they stand — no tenant to find, no repairs, no waiting. One offer, and the premium stops — anywhere in England.
Hold it, list via an agent
As it stands, to us
An empty house doesn't sit quietly. It costs more every month.
A house nobody lives in still has a council tax bill, insurance that has to cover vacancy, heating to keep damp and frozen pipes away and the worry of break-ins. Councils add a premium once it has been empty long enough, partly to push owners to sell, let or live in the home. If you've inherited it, moved into care, relocated or simply run out of energy to deal with it, the bill keeps rising while the decision keeps being put off.
The premium keeps climbing
The extra charge starts after the house has been empty and unfurnished for a year, and rises the longer it stays that way. A house empty for five or ten years can cost several times its normal bill.
Insurance gets harder and dearer
Standard home insurance often lapses after a month or two of vacancy. Specialist unoccupied cover costs more, and a claim on a house that wasn't properly insured can be refused.
The house deteriorates
Without heating and airing, damp, mould, leaks and pests take hold. Every month empty can add to the repair bill, and a tired house sells for less and takes longer.
Risk of break-ins and squatters
An obviously empty house attracts vandalism, theft and sometimes squatters, which creates a legal and financial headache of its own. Regular checks help, but they cost time and money too.
We take the house as it is, empty and tired. You don't tidy, repair or let it.
Selling a long-empty house to us is a normal sale of the property. Here's what happens to each piece, so you know exactly what you're agreeing to before we make an offer.
The condition
Damp, mould, an old boiler, a dated kitchen, a garden left to grow. We buy it as it is, and the cost of putting it right is priced into our offer, not billed to you.
The council tax
Council tax is apportioned to the day of completion, and the premium stops being your problem from then. We don't ask you to clear arrears to sell to us, though any owed to the council are settled from the proceeds.
Any contents
If the house still has furniture or belongings in it, take what you want and leave the rest. We can clear it, so you don't need a clearance firm.
No tenant, no letting
You don't have to find a tenant, pass safety checks or become a landlord to stop the premium. Selling ends the bill without any of the obligations of letting.
The date
Completion on a date that suits you, often within a couple of weeks. If it's part of an estate, we work to the grant of probate, and our probate page covers how that works.
The solicitors
We instruct and pay for solicitors on our side and cover yours, so there are no legal fees to find. Any mortgage on the house is repaid from the proceeds.
From first message to completion, without another month's bill
The same four steps we use for every purchase, with a visit to an empty house.
Tell us about the house and how long it's been empty
Postcode, type, condition and how long it has been vacant. Photos help. The form takes a minute; WhatsApp works too.
Get a firm cash offer
We look at the house and the timetable and come back with a figure you can rely on — usually within the hour. No obligation.
We inspect and instruct
A quick visit to the empty house, then solicitors instructed and paid by us. You send whatever paperwork you have; we chase the rest.
Complete
Any mortgage repaid, council tax apportioned and the money lands on a date that suits you. Typically 14 days from acceptance.
What helps us make an offer
- The address and a few photos of the house
- How long it has been empty, and why
- Your latest council tax bill, showing any premium
- Any known damp, leaks, damage or break-ins
- Whether it still has contents in it
- Whether probate or a power of attorney is involved
- Any mortgage on the property and the redemption figure
- The date you'd like to complete by
Keep holding vs. sell as it stands: a typical empty two-bed terrace
Take a 2-bed terrace worth £130,000, empty for 18 months since the owner moved into care, with a normal council tax bill of £1,800 a year now charged at double — the kind of house we're asked about every week in Lincoln, Carlisle and Grimsby. The family wants it sold but nobody has had time.
| 2-bed terrace, empty 18 months | Keep holding, list via an agent | Sell as it stands to us |
|---|---|---|
| Time before it can be marketed | 2–4 weeks to tidy, photograph and list, longer if repairs are needed | None — offer the day you ask |
| Sale price | £123,500 (95% of value, after a survey chip) | £106,600 cash offer (fixed) |
| Agent, conveyancing & EPC | −£5,420 | £0 — we pay both sides' solicitors |
| Council tax at double rate | −£1,800 (about 6 months at £3,600 a year) | −£138 (14 days) |
| Insurance, heating & upkeep | −£900 (about 6 months) | −£70 (14 days) |
| Chance it falls through | Roughly 1 in 4 once it's on the market | None — no chain, no lender |
| Time to money | 6–9 months, if it completes first time | About 14 days |
| Net in your pocket | ≈ £115,380 | ≈ £106,392 |
Worked example, not a valuation. Listing through an agent can leave you with more — here by roughly £9,000 — if the house sells first time and the buyer's lender behaves. Some exceptions can pause the premium while a home is actively marketed for sale, which would narrow the gap, so ask your council whether one applies. What listing can't give you is speed or certainty: months of holding costs, a one-in-four chance of collapse and a bill that stays high if the premium isn't paused. If a quick, certain end to the bill matters more than the difference, selling as it stands is the better trade. Your own figures are in the comparator at the top of the page.
The towns where we're most often asked to buy long-empty houses
Inherited houses, homes left after a move into care and properties owners can't face dealing with, in towns where the next buyer needs a mortgage. Each page below has the local detail: what a house there is worth and how the market behaves.
Somewhere else? We buy empty houses anywhere in England. Start from the county: Cumbria · Lincolnshire · or just send the postcode.
Selling an empty house: what to check before the next bill arrives
If you're searching for how to sell an empty house, or how to stop the council tax premium on an empty home, the first thing to know is that the premium isn't automatic and it isn't always unavoidable. Councils set their own policy, exceptions apply in specific cases, and a few minutes on the phone can change what you're charged. It's worth checking before you decide, but if the real problem is that you don't want the house, selling is the cleanest way to end the bill.
Find out exactly what you're being charged
Look at your latest bill. It should show the normal charge and any premium separately, and the council can tell you how long it counts the house as empty and when the next step up applies. If the date looks wrong, for example because someone lived there or it was furnished for part of the period, ask for a review.
Ask about exemptions and exceptions
Some situations mean no council tax for a period, such as a home left empty after a death, or one that is being actively marketed for sale. Others are exceptions to the premium. Councils apply them, and the conditions are specific, so ask which ones could cover you rather than assuming. Keep copies of anything you rely on, such as the grant of probate or evidence the house is on the market.
Consider whether to live in it, let it or sell it
Occupying the house ends the premium. So does letting it, but that makes you a landlord with safety checks, a tenancy agreement, possible licensing and the cost of getting it let-ready. Selling ends it too, and avoids the rest. If you never wanted to be a landlord, selling is usually simpler.
Keep the house safe while you decide
An empty house needs insurance that covers it being unoccupied, heating in winter and regular checks. Standard cover often lapses after a month or two of vacancy, and a claim on an uninsured house can be refused, so tell your insurer and keep a record of your visits. If it's empty because of probate, our probate house page covers the process and the tax.
What a cash buyer will and won't pay
Honestly: less than an open-market sale if everything goes perfectly. Our offers on long-empty houses usually land at around 78–85% of market value, with every fee paid by us and the house taken as it stands. Against that, listing costs months of a doubled council tax bill, insurance and upkeep, agent and legal fees, a survey chip and a one-in-four chance of collapse — which is why the net figures in the comparator at the top of this page are closer than the headline percentages suggest. If you'd like to see the same maths for your own house, ask for a figure; it takes a minute and costs nothing.
If the house is empty because it's full of belongings, or can't get a mortgage
Many empty houses are empty of people but not of things, or have a condition lenders won't accept. Our house full of belongings page and unmortgageable house page cover those cases. We buy both, and the figure reflects it.