FI16542

Request

I am seeking data relating to properties within your authority area that are currently exempt from Council Tax under the following classes: Class E – Property left empty where the liable person is in hospital. Class F – Property left empty following the death of the liable person.

Specifically, I request: Please provide the number of properties in each full postcode (not just the outward or first-half code) where either Class E or Class F exemptions are applied.

If available without exceeding cost limits, a breakdown of the count per exemption class (E and F) within each full postcode. If this level of detail would exceed cost limits, I am willing to accept a single combined total count of properties (E + F) per full postcode.

Purpose and Public Interest This request is made in the public interest. I am conducting research to: Understand housing availability and long-term vacancy patterns in the local area. Track the extent to which properties remain empty during the probate process, which can inform local and national housing policy. Empty homes are a matter of national concern, and greater transparency on exemption data will help inform evidence-based policy solutions. Crime Risk and Mitigation I am aware of refusals under Section 31(1)(a) (prevention of crime).

I respectfully submit that: My request does not seek full property addresses, only aggregated postcode-level counts, eliminating the risk of properties being individually identified. Classes E and F typically relate to properties under legal control (executors or solicitors), which are no more vulnerable than those already published through Land Registry data. Aggregated data poses no realistic risk of unauthorised occupation or criminal activity. 

Response

The Council is unable to provide the full postcode for the properties that are currently exempt from Council Tax under Class E or Class F as this information is exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act.  The Section 31 exemption is a qualified exemption and subject to the public interest test. Providing the information by postcode may make it possible to identify indiviudal properties that are empty and could make them vulnerable to illegal activities such as illegal occupation or other forms of anti-social behaviour which would not be in the interest of the owners or nearby residents of the properties.  In view of this, Dover District is unable to provide the full details of your request due to concerns about the potential for squatting and criminal damage which might occur if properties which could be identified from individual postcodes were in the public domain. In all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.  The Council can however provide a summary of properties by partial postcode that are currently exempt from Council Tax under Class E or Class F.  This information is as set out below. 

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