An empty home may be a flat, dwelling-house or house in multiple occupation which is privately owned and has been unoccupied for more than six months.
Although Oxford has a severe housing shortage, bringing empty properties back into use is not a statutory function.
The Council can only assist with:
- VAT exemptions for refurbishment
- Home Choice scheme to assist owners with letting property
- problems with rats or statutory nuisance (e.g. damp ingress to neighbouring home)
We cannot help with:
- request to help bring empty properties back into use
- unsightly properties or overgrown gardens
VAT Exemptions
If you require a VAT exemption certificate, please contact our Council Tax Team who will provide you with a copy of your Council Tax bills to confirm there is an Empty Property Discount / Premium or Empty Property Exemption in place. Email counciltax@oxford.gov.uk.
Report an empty home
You can report an empty home to the Council Tax Team who will investigate to see if an Empty Property Premium could be applied. The Empty Property Premium is important to deter people from keeping homes empty.
However, we cannot assist to bring the home back into use.
Email counciltax@oxford.gov.uk.
Home Choice scheme
The Home Choice Scheme provides people who may be homeless with the opportunity to move into a home of their choice in the private sector to avoid homelessness and a lengthy stay in temporary accommodation.
We introduce families to private landlords and work closely with both parties to make sure the move into private accommodation runs smoothly.
Please visit our Home Choice page for full details.
Empty property nuisance
Our Residential Regulation Team can only assist with empty properties where there are problems with rats or pests or the condition is such that it is causing a statutory nuisance (e.g. damp ingress to neighbouring property). Contact our Residential Regulation Team by email rrt@oxford.gov.uk or call on 01865 252211.
