This is the single most valuable thing on this website and hardly anybody in the trade mentions it, because it is easier to just charge the standard rate and move on.
The rule
If a residential property has been empty for two years or more immediately before the work starts, a VAT registered builder can charge the reduced rate of 5 percent on most renovation and alteration work, instead of the standard 20 percent.
On a 60,000 pound renovation, that is the difference between 12,000 pounds of VAT and 3,000. Nine thousand pounds, for a piece of paperwork.
Who this applies to
- People who have bought a probate property that sat empty while the estate was settled
- Buyers of repossessions and long term vacant houses
- Anyone renovating an inherited property that nobody has lived in
- Landlords bringing a long empty property back into use
- Buyers of houses that failed to sell and stood empty for a couple of years
The part that catches people out
It has to be applied at the time. You cannot reclaim it retrospectively.
If your builder invoices at 20 percent and you find out about this afterwards, that money is gone. There is no form to fill in later. This is why it matters that you raise it before you sign anything, with us or with anybody else.
What you need to prove it
The burden of evidence sits with the builder, so we will ask you for something that demonstrates the property was genuinely empty for the full two years. In practice that usually means one of:
- A letter from the council's empty property officer
- Council tax records showing an empty property exemption or premium
- Electoral roll evidence showing nobody registered at the address
- Utility records showing negligible consumption over the period
The two years must run immediately before work starts. A property empty for three years but occupied for six months last summer does not qualify.
What is covered and what is not
The reduced rate applies to most renovation and alteration work and to materials supplied by the builder as part of that work. It does not cover materials you buy yourself, and there are specific exclusions, notably most white goods and some fitted items.
Other reduced rate situations
There are related reliefs worth knowing about. Converting a property from one number of dwellings to another, for instance turning a house into flats or flats back into a house, can also attract the 5 percent rate. Certain mobility adaptations for older or disabled occupants can be zero rated entirely.
Just ask
If the house you are renovating has been sitting empty, say so on the first call. It takes thirty seconds and it could be the most profitable half minute of the whole project.
We are builders, not tax advisers, and this is general information rather than advice. The current rules are set out in HMRC VAT Notice 708. Check your specific circumstances with HMRC or your accountant.
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