{"id":12197,"date":"2022-04-25T12:20:33","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T12:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clearway.co.uk\/?p=12197"},"modified":"2024-11-25T13:14:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T13:14:41","slug":"what-is-the-definition-of-a-vacant-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clearway.co.uk\/news\/what-is-the-definition-of-a-vacant-property\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the definition of a vacant property?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>If you\u2019re considering buying an empty property to invest in, or if you own a second home that you\u2019re not occupying, knowing what constitutes a \u201cvacant property\u201d is important when it comes to aspects like insurance and tax.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In this article, we outline what constitutes a vacant property, the difference between vacant property and unoccupied property, and what owning a vacant property could mean for your tax bill and insurance policy. So, what is the definition of a vacant property?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<h2>What is considered a vacant property?<\/h2>\n<p>According to UK regulations, a vacant property is considered officially \u2018vacant\u2019 when all furniture has been removed from the property and the property has been left unattended for more than 30 days. It\u2019s important to note that this definition may vary both from council to council and insurer to insurer, so it\u2019s always important to check beforehand with your local providers.<\/p>\n<p>A property can be vacant for many reasons, including the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The property was abandoned or is considered derelict (in which case property developers might be interested in purchasing it)<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019ve moved into a second home and haven\u2019t yet sold nor plan to re-sell your old home<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019re waiting to carry out home renovations or home decorating<\/li>\n<li>Former tenants have left and the property hasn\u2019t yet been re-let<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Does vacant mean unoccupied?<\/h2>\n<p>In definitive terms, \u2018vacant\u2019 describes a property that is totally empty, meaning that there are no personal items, furniture, appliances or belongings left behind. An unoccupied property might describe a property where personal items or furniture still remain, but the property itself is not lived in.<\/p>\n<p>Typically, a \u201cvacant\u201d property describes a property that is empty with no visible interest from market buyers, and is mostly of interest to property developers looking to renovate old buildings and abandoned properties.<\/p>\n<h2>Buying vacant property: what you need to know<\/h2>\n<p>When you buy an empty or vacant property, there are a couple of important things to be aware of, especially if the property is considered derelict or in need of major renovations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You\u2019re not guaranteed a mortgage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When buying a vacant property, there\u2019s no guarantee you\u2019ll be approved for a mortgage. Many renovation projects fall short and property developers lose interest in the renovation project, so mortgage providers might consider a mortgage on an empty or abandoned property to be of high risk.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you have a strong credit history and own your own home (or several properties), you might find that it\u2019s easier to pay cash for a vacant property, rather than trying to obtain a mortgage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Calculate all costs beforehand<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Before jumping in and buying a vacant property, it\u2019s important that you know just how much the renovations are going to cost before investing cash (cash which will probably be from your own pocket.) <span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Make sure to do a professional void property inspection so you know just how much the entire process is going to cost, &quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:2,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:2105376},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri,Arial&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:11}\" data-sheets-textstyleruns=\"{&quot;1&quot;:0}\uee10{&quot;1&quot;:31,&quot;2&quot;:{&quot;5&quot;:1}}\uee10{&quot;1&quot;:56}\">Make sure to do a professional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clearway.co.uk\/our-services\/vacant-property-management\/property-inspections\/\">void property inspection<\/a> so you know just how much the entire process is going to cost, <\/span> including any applicable council tax and home insurance.<\/p>\n<p>You may also face difficulties if the abandoned property is frequented by squatters, especially if the property has been vacant for a long time. All of these factors should come into play before taking the leap to purchase a vacant property.<\/p>\n<h2>Owning vacant property: what you need to know<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Council Tax and Empty Home Premiums<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you own a vacant property, you\u2019re most likely going to be liable for paying both council tax and an empty home premium for the full duration of time that your home remains vacant. If you\u2019re having renovation work done immediately, you may be entitled to council tax relief; however, those not eligible will pay up to a 300% council tax premium on top of their regular council tax bill if they keep their property empty.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Look to renovate \/ repurpose the property<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You might find it difficult to re-sell a property that needs lots of renovations, or that has been left abandoned for a long time. It\u2019s always a good idea to make sure you\u2019re fully committed to the property\u2019s renovation before buying, and once bought, sticking to the plan for renovation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Short Term Vacancy Insurance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As you might find it difficult to obtain regular home insurance for a vacant property, you\u2019ll need to apply for short term vacancy insurance to ensure that your property is safe while you\u2019re absent.<\/p>\n<p>If the property is lacking in certain basic security (such as broken windows, doors) you might find that you\u2019ll pay a higher premium than on a regular property.<\/p>\n<h3>Find out more about vacant property rules<\/h3>\n<p><strong>If you\u2019re new to the nuances of vacant property, get in touch with Clearway today and enquire about our vacant property security services. We\u2019re experts in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clearway.co.uk\/vacant-property-security\/\" data-wpil=\"url\">empty property security<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clearway.co.uk\/vacant-property-management\/\" data-wpil=\"url\">unoccupied property management<\/a>, offering everything from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clearway.co.uk\/vacant-property-alarm\" data-wpil=\"url\">temporary alarms<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clearway.co.uk\/vacant-property-security-steel-security-doors\/\">steel security doors<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clearway.co.uk\/vacant-property-security-steel-screens\/\" data-wpil=\"url\">screens<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re considering buying an empty property to invest in, or if you own a second home that you\u2019re not occupying, knowing what constitutes a \u201cvacant property\u201d is important when it comes to aspects like insurance and tax. In this article, we outline what constitutes a vacant property, the difference between vacant property and unoccupied&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,7],"tags":[],"area":[53],"class_list":["post-12197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-news","area-vacant-property-services"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is the definition of a vacant property? 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