State visit
The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and Mrs Brigitte Macron will visit Windsor, under invite from the King, from Tuesday 8 July to Thursday 10 July 2025. Find out more.
Information about premiums for second homes and long term empty properties.
The council charges additional council tax, or premiums, if your property is either empty and furnished (the second home premium) or empty and unfurnished (the long term empty premium).
Since April 2017, there are no reductions available for council tax where a property is unoccupied and you may actually be charged more council tax i.e. a Premium, depending upon whether it is furnished, how long it has been unoccupied and whether it fits one of the exception criteria.
If a property is unoccupied and unfurnished for 12 months of more, a Long Term Empty Premium will be charged in addition to the normal council tax charge.
How much this premium is will depend on how long it has been unoccupied and unfurnished for:
If a property is unoccupied but furnished, from Tuesday 1 April 2025, the council is now able to charge a Second Home Premium as soon as the property becomes unoccupied and furnished.
The premium is a standard amount of 100% on top of the standard council tax charged, irrespective of how long the property remains unoccupied but furnished.
The Government have created some mandatory exceptions which are listed below. As you can see, some apply to both the Long Term Empty Premium and the Second Home Premium while others may only apply to one or the other.
These exceptions only apply from Tuesday 1 April 2025 and cannot be backdated e.g. if a property has been charged a Long Term Empty Premium before Tuesday 1 April 2025, but from that date falls into a category for an exception, it will only be removed from Tuesday 1 April 2025 and not before this date.
If you believe that your property fits one of the exception criteria summaries below, you must complete whichever of the online forms below applies.
Please note, you may be asked for supporting evidence and/or subject to a property inspection before the Premium may be removed.
Any Premium charged, must legally be paid until the council agrees to remove it and you have received an amended bill. Any sums overpaid will be refunded to you.
We will be undertaking a review of properties which attract premiums before Tuesday 1 April 2025, please ensure you respond or you will be charged these additional amounts.
Requires, or undergoing, major repairs or structural alterations (12 month limit).