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17/12/25 3:30 pm
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A new Private Members’ Bill aims to keep empty properties on the valuation list and hold private landlords to account.
Labour MP Jodie Gosling introduced the Property (Registration and Valuation) Ten Minute Rule Bill in response to rising numbers of empty properties in her Nuneaton constituency. She told the Commons that Nuneaton and Bedworth Council now has more than 1,800 empty domestic and non-domestic properties.
Gosling wants the registration and exemption regimes to be updated so councils have the power to hold the owners of empty properties accountable for the state of their buildings. The Bill proposes that all properties should remain on the register unless they are demolished, that all properties are given a value, and that all exemptions become time-limited, ensuring that all exempt properties are being used for their exempt purpose.
When a property is derelict, it is often removed from the valuation list, said Gosling; because it is no longer considered habitable or usable, it is no longer an asset. “That measure was originally intended to enable renovations to take place on properties without additional costs being incurred. We wish to time-limit the exclusion, because a deregistered property does not appear on the valuation list unless it is brought back into use. That has led to the situation where properties can lie unoccupied for years.”
She added that nationally, an estimated 260,000 residences are long-term empty, many of which have been zero-rated and do not pay back to their local councils.
Councils can currently impose empty property taxes on homes, penalties on owners and Empty Dwelling Management Orders. The government launched High Street Rental Auctions in England last year, allowing councils to auction off leases on retail units which have lain empty for a year or more across a two-year period, with available grants.
The Ten Minute Rule Bill will be read a second time on 16th January. While it’s a way to raise the profile of a topic, few progress far unless uncontroversial, as they compete with government business.
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