The garden slowly becomes overgrown. The curtains never open. Post begins to pile up behind the door. At first, it might just look neglected.
But when a property stays empty for years it can start to affect the whole street.
Long-term empty homes can lead to:
- Properties deteriorating over time
- Vandalism or anti-social behaviour
- Neighbouring homes becoming harder to sell
- A general sense that the street is being neglected
Once people start noticing an empty house nearby, they often begin to realize there are more empty homes around them than they first thought.
Across the UK there are hundreds of thousands of homes that are no longer being lived in.
According to housing charity Action on Empty Homes and research from the Empty Homes Network, there are more than 300,000 long-term empty homes in England. Many of these houses have simply become stuck in complicated situations and quietly fall out of use. At You Spot Property, our focus is identifying these homes and helping bring them back into use.
Over the years we have helped bring hundreds of empty properties back into use, returning houses that have been sitting unused back into homes people can live in again.
But what kind of empty properties actually qualify for a reward?
What We Look For When Identifying Empty Homes
Not every quiet house is empty. Some properties are between tenants, temporarily unoccupied or undergoing renovation. In most cases, the homes we are interested in have usually been empty for 12 months or more, particularly where the property appears unmodernized or where maintenance has clearly stopped.
These are often the homes where the situation has become stuck. The owner may be dealing with probate after a death, family inheritance issues, missing deeds or renovation plans that never moved forward.
From the outside it can look like a house that has simply been forgotten. There is often a complicated story behind why it has remained empty.
Signs a House May Have Been Empty for a Long Time
When a house sits unused for months or years, certain patterns usually begin to appear.
Some of the most common signs neighbor’s notice include:
- Overgrown gardens where grass, weeds or hedges have clearly not been maintained
- Post piling up behind the door, gate or letterbox
- Boarded windows or doors, sometimes installed after break-ins or damage
- Curtains that never move or windows that are always closed
- No signs of daily life, such as bins never appearing for collection
- Visible deterioration, including peeling paint, broken gutters or damaged fencing
Sometimes problems can also be spotted online.
Looking at Google Street View can occasionally reveal signs that a property has not been maintained for a long time, such as missing roof tiles, visible roof damage or structural deterioration that has been present for years.
None of these signs on their own prove a house is empty, but when several appear together over time it often suggests the property has fallen out of use.
Why Homes Stay Empty for Years
People often assume empty homes are simply abandoned. In reality the reasons are usually far more complicated.
Some of the most common situations include:
- probate delays following a death
- disputes between family members over inheritance
- missing ownership records or unregistered titles
- owners who now live abroad
- renovation projects that stalled or became too expensive
In many cases the property remains empty simply because no one has found a clear path forward.
That is where You Spot Property comes in.
We specialize in the kinds of cases most people walk away from, working through legal complexity, ownership disputes and long-running family situations to find a practical route forward.
What Happens After a Property Is Reported
When a property is reported through You Spot Property, the team begins by reviewing the information provided, including photographs and details about the address.
From there, research is carried out to understand what may be happening behind the scenes.
This can include:
- Land Registry searches
- investigating ownership records
- checking probate situations
- tracing owners who may now live elsewhere
Every property has its own story.
Some cases can move forward relatively quickly, while others take longer depending on the circumstances involved.
Where possible, the goal is always to find a practical path forward that allows the property to return to use.
Many of the empty homes we investigate were first noticed by neighbor’s who simply wondered why a house on their street had been left untouched for so long.
How Much Can You Earn for Reporting an Empty Property?
This is one of the most common questions we get asked, so here is a straightforward answer.
If the property meets our reporting criteria, you will receive a £20 voucher as a thank you for submitting the address.
If we go on to purchase the property, you will receive 1% of the purchase price upon completion, up to a maximum of £10,000.
To date, we have paid out over £1 million in spotter rewards to members of the public across the UK.
Spotters have included neighbour’s, dog walkers, delivery drivers and people who simply noticed something unusual about a house on their street.
You do not need any property knowledge or experience.
You just need to notice something, take a photo and send it in.
How to Report an Empty Property
Reporting a property takes just a few minutes.
Here is what to do:
- Note down the full address of the property
- Take a few photographs if you can do so safely and without trespassing
- Visit youspotproperty.co.uk and submit the details through the online form
- We will review the submission and be in touch
The more detail you can provide, the more useful your report will be.
If you have noticed the property has been empty for a long time or have any background on why it may be stuck, that context is always helpful.
If there is a house near you that looks like it may have been empty for some time, you can report it at youspotproperty.co.uk.
It takes a few minutes and, if we purchase the property, you could earn even more.
Spot it. Send it. Spend it.