Hillingdon wants homes left empty for one year, not two, to pay double council tax. About 350 homes sat in that gap. Comments close on Sunday 22 November.
Owners of empty homes in Hillingdon could start paying double council tax after one year instead of two. The council is consulting on the change until Sunday 22 November (empty homes premium consultation).
The rule would cover homes left empty and substantially unfurnished for a year or more. They would be charged 200% council tax. Today that charge only starts at two years.
Government figures suggest about 350 homes in the borough were in that one-to-two-year gap last autumn.
What changes
The council’s current premium, and what it proposes, set out on its consultation page:
| How long the home has been empty | Bill now | Bill under the proposal |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 100% | 100% |
| 1 to 2 years | 100% | 200% |
| 2 to 5 years | 200% | 200% |
| 5 to 10 years | 300% | 300% |
| Over 10 years | 400% | 400% |
Only the one-to-two-year row moves. The longer-term premiums stay as they are.
A home has to be lived in or substantially furnished for at least six weeks in a row before the clock resets. A short let or a few weeks of occupation does not restart it.
The council says the aim is to get owners to bring empty homes back into use and help meet housing demand. It adds that any extra money raised “would help support local services”.
The consultation page does not say when the change would start, or how much the council expects it to raise.
How many homes it would reach
The government’s Council Taxbase 2025 return, a snapshot each council files every October, gives the count for Hillingdon (Council Taxbase 2025 in England, local authority data). In October 2025:
- 1,596 empty homes were on the council tax list
- 350 had been empty for between one and two years, and paid no premium
- 171 were already paying a premium: 100 empty for two to five years, 37 for five to ten years and 34 for over ten years
Those 350 are the homes the new rule is aimed at. Some may be exempt, as set out below, so the true number caught would be lower. The figures are a year old, and the council has not published a newer count.
Most are mid-band homes. Band D, with 129 of them, is the biggest group.
What it would cost an owner
At this year’s rates, a Band D home in Hillingdon pays £2,045.46 (council tax bands 2026/27). At 200%, that becomes £4,090.92 a year, so an owner would pay £2,045.46 more.
For a Band C home the bill would go from £1,818.19 to £3,636.38. For Band E it would go from £2,500.01 to £5,000.02. Our Hillingdon council tax bands page has every band.
The council already gives no discount at all on empty homes, furnished or not (empty properties and second homes). Since 1 April 2026 it has also charged a premium on second homes.
Who would not pay it
The premium does not apply in some cases set by national rules. The council lists them on its empty properties page:
- a home actively marketed for sale, for up to 12 months
- a home actively marketed for let, for up to 12 months
- a home left empty after a death, for up to 12 months from the grant of probate
- a home under major repair or structural alteration, for up to 12 months
- an annexe treated as part of the main home
- a home whose owner is living in job-related armed forces housing
To claim one, email counciltax@hillingdon.gov.uk with your account number in the subject line, the address and the evidence. The council suggests an estate agent or letting agent contract with a valid EPC, a copy of probate, or the building contract.
A home being renovated does not escape the premium unless the Valuation Office Agency rules it derelict and takes it off the list.
Is this unusual?
No. The council says councils can now apply the premium after one year, and that many London boroughs have done so since April 2024. GOV.UK sets out the national rules on second homes and empty properties.
What it means for you
- If you own a home that has been empty for under two years, this is the change that would affect you. If it reaches a year empty and unfurnished after the rule starts, the bill would double.
- If you are selling, letting or dealing with probate, check whether an exception covers you and claim it now. Each one runs out after 12 months.
- If you want empty homes on your street back in use, this is your chance to say so.
To respond, fill in the council’s online form by Sunday 22 November. For a paper copy or help, email residentempowerment@hillingdon.gov.uk or call 01895 277038.
The council is consulting on several other things this month. Comments on its draft air quality action plan close on Friday 20 November, and on the Pole Hill model car track lease on Monday 30 November.
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