Response 4093135

Response to request for information

Reference

4093135

Response date

25 August 2026

Request

Please provide a list of all residential properties within your authority's area that are currently recorded as long-term empty for council tax purposes (i.e. unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for six months or more, including any properties subject to the empty homes council tax premium).

For each property, please provide:

1. The full property address including postcode
2. The date the property became empty, or alternatively the duration band (e.g. 6–12 months, 1–2 years, 2–5 years, 5+ years)
3. Whether the empty homes premium is currently applied

To be clear, I am NOT requesting the names of owners, council tax account holders, or any other personal data — addresses and vacancy duration only. I am aware that some authorities have concerns about disclosing full addresses; if you consider a full-address release exempt, I would ask that you consider the following before refusing:

The Information Commissioner's Office has in multiple decision notices found that empty property addresses, absent any personal data, can be disclosed under FOIA.

As a partial alternative, I would accept the data aggregated to street level or postcode sector level (e.g. number of long-term empty properties per street), which removes any conceivable identification risk.

Response

I am unable to release the information requested as the information is exempt from disclosure by virtue of section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Section 31(1)(a) states that the information is exempt if its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. The Council has considered the arguments for and against disclosure and has applied the Public interest Test. The Council's decision is that it would not be in the public interest to disclose information about empty properties as it would be likely to result in criminal activities such as squatting, theft and vandalism.

In refusing your request the Council relies on the Information Tribunal's decision (Case No.EA/2011/0007) dated 22 January 2013 where it was found that the London Borough of Camden was entitled to refuse a request for information about empty properties because the section 31(1)(a) exemption "was engaged and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing it

Section 31(1)(a) states that the information is exempt if its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. The Council has considered the arguments for and against disclosure and has applied the Public interest Test.

The Council's decision is that it would not be in the public interest to disclose information about empty properties, as it would be likely to result in criminal activities such as squatting, theft and vandalism.

Your right to seek a review

You can ask us to review our response. If you want us to carry out a review, please let us know within 40 working days. Your written request for a review should be addressed to the Data Protection Officer and sent to email address customerservices@rushcliffe.gov.uk or by post to:

Data Protection Officer, Rushcliffe Borough Council, Rushcliffe Arena, Rugby Road, Nottingham NG2 2YG.

If you are still dissatisfied after our internal review, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You should make complaints to the ICO within six weeks of receiving the outcome of an internal review. The easiest way to lodge a complaint is through their website: www.ico.org.uk/foicomplaints or by post to The ICO, FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution, Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF.