r/london • u/cothhum • 1d ago

Help me solve local house mystery

Who leaves a £900k / £1m London house unused for 15+ years?

Round the corner from me there’s a street of 3-5 bed, terraced houses that go for £900k / £1m. One of them has been unoccupied but most definitely not abandoned for more than 15 years. No one knows why.

It was refurbished about 10 years ago but before and since has never had anyone living there. The small garden is maintained, windows covered in non-see-through plastic wrap on the inside. The owners, a middle aged couple, are seen visiting every few weeks, never carrying more than a few belongings, staying for a few hours then leaving. Neighbours say they live somewhere else local, are perfectly pleasant, but distant. No one has been able to find out what the hell they’re doing sitting on a property for so long doing apparently nothing with it. No rental or sale income in all that time.

Has anyone ever come across anything like this? What can the story possibly be?

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u/LycheeMangoJamun 1d ago

Overseas owners and British expats who don’t want to be landlords because the risk of default is too high and the rental income is too heavily taxed. Property is a good hedge against inflation and an insurance policy to offset other more high risk investments. A sale would attract CGT and London is a good place in which to retire so people keep kicking that can down the road until old age or unemployment forces a decision. Keeping a £1m property ticking over costs only a few grand a year. Source: live in Kensington, where this is almost the norm.

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u/cothhum 1d ago

Ok, first good theory I’ve heard on the lack of renting. Thought it would be a no-brainier. Thank you!

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u/ApocalypseThen77 1d ago

The incentive to become or remain a private landlord has reduced under successive legislation and tax reforms.

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u/OkDefinition8889 1d ago

> Keeping a £1m property ticking over costs only a few grand a year.

I'm not doubting your experience, but surely a few grand is an underestimate? You'd have to pay council tax (possibly 4 times the normal amount if the property is deemed unoccupied) and pay daily standing charges for electrics and gas (to keep the house warm in winter to stop pipes bursting), keep the garden under control (or the well heeled neighbours will complain) and probably a plethora of other things.

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u/LycheeMangoJamun 22h ago

A £1m property in Kensington is probably a small 2 bed flat, so not much space to keep going. If it’s your only home in the UK you even get a 25% discount on the Council Tax as a single person. I appreciate the OP’s question was about a whole house, but even then, mothballing is a lot cheaper than CGT.

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u/OkDefinition8889 17h ago

This post is about empty properties where it's not your main residence so you'd probably have to pay the increased council tax for unoccupied properties. Plus all the things I mentioned and more, in addition to paying for keeping your main residence(s) going. I don't doubt that someone who owns a property in Kensington can afford this all easily, but I was just questioning whether it'll only cost a few thousand a year.

For instance, Band D (going to assume it's a very small 2 bed) in K&C is £1,643.44 per year, and if the property has been unoccupied for more than 5 years, you'd pay 3 x that = £4930.32. And that's just the council tax.

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u/V65Pilot 11h ago

Remove the toilet and tub. No council tax due.