Sevenoaks council's empty homes premium reached £824,803 this year, FOI figures show. It reports no homes brought back with its help in 2025/26 or since.
Sevenoaks District Council’s empty homes premium has reached £824,803 for 2026/27, more than three times the 2023/24 figure. The council also says no empty homes were brought back into use with its involvement in 2025/26 or so far this year.
It has not applied for or made a single empty dwelling management order or compulsory purchase order on an empty home in the four years covered.
The figures were obtained by Sevenoaks Online under the Freedom of Information Act. The council replied on 3 November, under case reference FOI/727.
More money from fewer homes
The premium is an extra council tax charge on homes left empty for more than a year. The number of homes charged has fallen since 2024/25, while the money has gone up by £257,978.
| Year | Homes charged | Premium | Average per home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 226 | £238,540 | £1,055 |
| 2024/25 | 449 | £566,825 | £1,262 |
| 2025/26 | 278 | £591,495 | £2,128 |
| 2026/27 | 271 | £824,803 | £3,044 |
The average is our own sum, and a rough one, because the number of homes is a count at one point in the year.
We asked for the amount billed and the amount collected separately. The council gave one figure a year, headed “Long Term Empty Premium”, and does not say which it is. It also does not say why the total rose as the number of homes fell, or whether the 2026/27 figure covers the whole year or the year so far.
We asked for the rate charged in each year too. The attached spreadsheet gives counts only. The council’s website gives the current rates. (Sevenoaks District Council, empty properties and second homes)
- Empty for 1 to 5 years: 200% council tax
- Empty for 5 to 10 years: 300% council tax
- Empty for more than 10 years: 400% council tax
What the council has done with its powers
| Year | Homes brought back with council involvement | Management orders and compulsory purchase orders |
|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 18 | 0 |
| 2024/25 | 17 | 0 |
| 2025/26 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026/27 | 0 | 0 |
The reply gives the numbers without comment. It does not say why the count fell from 17 to none.
How long homes have stood empty
The latest table shows 531 homes that have been empty for at least six months. Of those, 299 have been empty for a year or more, and 271 of them are being charged the premium. The district has about 52,840 homes, so 299 is about one home in 177. Our council tax bands page has the valuation figures.
The biggest change is at the long end. These are the homes recorded as empty for five years or more:
- 2024/25: 165 homes, including 72 empty for 10 years or more
- 2025/26: 28 homes, including 10 empty for 10 years or more
- 2026/27: 26 homes, including 9 empty for 10 years or more
That fall came in the same year the council recorded no homes brought back with its involvement. The table does not say what happened to them.
The 2023/24 columns do not compare directly. The council marks three of the five bands “n/a” for that year, so we start the totals from 2024/25.
Where the empty homes are
Sevenoaks town has the most homes empty for a year or more, with 66. Three other parishes stand out:
- Seal has 56, almost a fifth of the district’s total. Of those, 47 have been empty for one to two years, up from two in that band in 2024/25. It also has nine of the district’s 17 homes empty for five to ten years.
- Westerham has 17 homes empty for six to 12 months, up from nine a year earlier.
- Ash-cum-Ridley has 12 in the same band, up from four.
We asked the council not to include addresses, so the table cannot show whether Seal’s 47 homes are on one site.
Why it matters locally
The council is under pressure on housing. Homelessness cases rose from 372 in 2023-24 to 558 in 2025-26, according to its own review, as we reported in October. Its budget plans for 2027/28 add £200,000 a year for temporary accommodation. (Sevenoaks District Council, Transition Budget report)
These figures do not show how many empty homes could be used for that need, or whether the premium has pushed owners to act.
What it means for you
- If you own an empty home, there is no discount for an unoccupied, unfurnished property. To end the premium you must bring it back into use and tell the council.
- If the owner has died, an exemption may apply for up to six months after probate. After that, council tax is charged at 50% until the home is reoccupied or ownership changes.
- To check the rules for your own property, use the council’s empty properties page.
Every parish, 2026/27
The council’s figures, parish by parish, for all homes empty for six months or more.
| Parish | 6 to 12 months | 1 to 2 years | 2 to 5 years | 5 to 10 years | 10 years or more | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash-cum-Ridley | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| Badgers Mount | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brasted | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| Chevening | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Chiddingstone | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Cowden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Crockenhill | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Dunton Green | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| Edenbridge | 18 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 40 |
| Eynsford | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Farningham | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Fawkham | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Halstead | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Hartley | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Hever | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Hextable | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Horton Kirby | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Kemsing | 13 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Knockholt | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Leigh | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Otford | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| Penshurst | 3 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| Riverhead | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| Seal | 1 | 47 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 57 |
| Sevenoaks | 47 | 45 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 113 |
| Shoreham | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Sundridge | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Swanley | 22 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| Weald | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| West Kingsdown | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Westerham | 17 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 31 |
| District | 232 | 199 | 74 | 17 | 9 | 531 |
Sources
- Sevenoaks District Council, response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to a request from Sevenoaks Online, case reference FOI/727, 3 November 2026, with spreadsheet by parish covering 2023/24 to 2026/27
- Sevenoaks District Council, empty properties and second homes
- Sevenoaks District Council, Transition Budget report
- Sevenoaks District Council, Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy Review, September 2026
Charts by Sevenoaks Online.
Image: Sevenoaks District Council offices, photo by Richard Kelly, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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