Report an empty

If you’re concerned about an empty home let us know (residential properties only please):

To report an empty property, visit the Public Protection and Private Sector Housing Online Services portal.

You can also contact us by calling 01952 383838.

We'll need the following information:

• the address of the property or location on a map
• the condition of the property
• an estimate of how long the property has been empty
• the issues or concerns you have regarding the empty property.

It would also help our investigation if you have an idea of who owns the property or some history/background of the property.

Once you have informed us of an empty property we will sent you an acknowledgment response, we may also ask for further details and photos.

Empty properties are then dealt with in order of priority, for example a property open to access, at risk of arson or squatting will be our first priority. 

We try to bring as many empty properties as we can back into use but there is no quick fix for empty properties and some may take a long time to resolve the complex issues behind the scenes. 

Sometimes and as a last resolve the council will take enforcement action in the form of an enforced sale or even court action in obtaining an order of sale of the property in order to sell the property into new ownership with the hope that a new owner will commence the renovations of the property.

As the information between the property owner/executor/beneficiary and ourselves is private and we are often dealing with very private complex issues we can’t discuss cases with a third party. Therefore, we are unable to give complainants further information regarding the empty properties we are dealing with once it has been reported.

Last updated: 21/02/2025 12:56