Key information
Publication type: General
Publication date:
Contents
4 sections
Overview
This data analysis, produced by the London Assembly Research Unit, provides an overview of empty and second homes in London.
The information presented in the report is based on published data from a range of sources, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) Council Taxbase 2025 in England, and additional data from MHCLG on vacant dwellings. It also includes some supplementary data from the Census 2021.
The analysis was undertaken in support of planned work by the London Assembly Housing Committee.
This page presents highlights from the report, with the full document available from the link below.
Empty homes
According to the Council Taxbase, in 2025 there were 105,138 empty homes and 55,978 second homes in London. This represents 2.7 per cent and 1.5 per cent of the total homes in London respectively.
1 in 37 homes in London are empty, and 1 in 67 are second homes
Source: MHCLG, Council Taxbase 2025 in England, November 2025 (revised in January 2026): local authority level data. The number of empty homes includes all empty properties liable for council tax and properties that are empty but receive a council tax exemption.
Trends in empty homes
The number of empty dwellings in London has steadily increased over the past decade. Since 2016, the number of empty homes in London has risen by 81 per cent from 58,096 in 2016 to 105,138 in 2025.
Prior to this, the number of empty homes in London had steadily decreased from 86,733 in 2004 to 56,715 in 2014.
Number of empty homes in London
Source: MHCLG, Table 615: vacant dwellings by local authority district: England, from 2004, November 2025. The number of empty homes includes all empty properties liable for council tax and properties that are empty but receive a council tax exemption.
Long-term empty homes
MHCLG releases statistics on long-term empty homes that are liable for council tax, which it defines as dwellings that have been empty for more than six months.
Since 2016, the number of long-term empty homes in London has increased by 138 per cent from 19,845 to 47,287.
From 2024 to 2025, the number of long-term empty properties in London increased by 23 per cent, the second largest single-year increase in this period.
Source: MHCLG, Table 615: vacant dwellings by local authority district: England, from 2004, November 2025. Long-term empty homes are defined as properties liable for council tax that have been empty for more than six months and that are not subject to Empty Homes Discount class D or empty due to specific flooding events. Empty homes figures do not include the 23,326 empty homes in London in 2025 that were exempt from council tax.
Of the 81,812 empty homes in London in 2025 that are not exempt from council tax, 47,864 (59 per cent) have been empty for more than six months.
The number of homes empty for more than six months varied across boroughs in 2025, from a high of 3,278 in Barnet to a low of 152 in the City of London.
Number of homes empty for more than six months by local authority, 2025
Source: MHCLG, Council Taxbase 2025 in England, November 2025, Table 1.19, November 2025 (revised in January 2026). Empty homes figures do not include the 23,326 empty homes in London in 2025 that were exempt from council tax.
Related documents
Empty homes in London