Dwelling stock by council tax band

Summary

The 12 Lancashire authorities together had a combined dwelling stock figure of 574,570 in March 2024, which represented 2.2% of the total for England. Numbers in each of the Lancashire-14 authorities ranged from a high of 72,500 in Blackpool to 29,440 in Ribble Valley.

Analysis by council tax band shows that over 60% of dwellings in Burnley and Pendle were in the lowest band 'A' (England = 23.8%). The highest tax bands of 'F' to 'H' accounted for 9.3% of properties in England but just 1.1% in Burnley and 1.2% in Blackpool and Hyndburn. In Ribble Valley and Fylde however the proportions were 16.6% and 11.4% respectively.

The council tax bands

The dwelling stock information contained in this report is derived from the Valuation Office Agency. It provides information on the number of domestic properties and their distribution across the eight standard council tax bands 'A to H'.

Dwellings are classified as accommodation which is normally lived in by one or more people, and include houses, flats, bungalows and maisonettes. Temporary structures such as caravans and houseboats are counted as dwellings if they are the main residence of a household. The precise definition that applies to this dataset is set out in section three of the 1992 Local Government Finance Act, and is concerned with establishing ownership, occupation and liability for council tax purposes. Each dwelling in England is assigned to one of eight council tax bands as shown in the table.

Band band A band B band C band D band E band F band G band H
Min value (£)   40,001 52,001 68,001 88,001 120,001 160,001 320,001
Max value (£) 40,000 52,000 68,000 88,000 120,000 160,000 320,000  

The council tax band of a property is based on the price a property would have fetched if it had been sold on the open market on 1 April 1991.

Dwelling stock results

In total, the dataset covered over 25 million dwellings in England in March 2024. Table 1 has the dwelling stock numbers for the local authorities in Lancashire. Blackpool, with 72,500 dwellings, had the largest stock of all Lancashire authorities, whilst Ribble Valley recorded the lowest number with 29,440. The dwelling stock in the Lancashire-12 area amounted to 574,570, which represents 16.7% of the North West total and 2.2% of the England figure. The most striking aspect about the results is the high proportions of dwellings in the lowest council tax band (A) in some Lancashire authorities. On average, 23.8% of dwellings in England were in council tax band 'A', but in Burnley and Pendle the percentages were in excess of 60%. In contrast, Fylde and Ribble Valley had rates of 17.3% and 13.2% respectively. Around a quarter (22.7%) of all the band 'A' dwellings in England are found in the North West region. 

Table 1 Dwelling stock by council tax band, March 2024 (table scrolls left to right to show all bands and combined values for bands F to H)

  Total band 'A' band 'A' % band 'B' band 'B' % band 'C' band 'C' % band 'D' band 'D' % band 'E' band 'E' % band 'F' band 'F' % band 'G' band 'G' % band 'H' band 'H' % bands 'F, G & H' bands 'F, G & H' %
Burnley 42,890 25,770 60.1% 5,820 13.6% 6,460 15.1% 3,040 7.1% 1,310 3.1% 340 0.8% 130 0.3% 20 0.1% 490 1.1%
Chorley 53,030 15,200 28.7% 12,170 22.9% 9,760 18.4% 7,000 13.2% 5,430 10.2% 2,360 4.5% 1,040 2.0% 70 0.1% 3,470 6.5%
Fylde 41,400 7,170 17.3% 6,990 16.9% 9,620 23.2% 7,520 18.2% 5,360 13.0% 2,920 7.1% 1,680 4.1% 140 0.3% 4,740 11.4%
Hyndburn 37,870 21,980 58.0% 5,850 15.4% 5,860 15.5% 2,850 7.5% 870 2.3% 280 0.7% 170 0.4% 10 0.0% 460 1.2%
Lancaster 66,620 23,410 35.1% 16,490 24.8% 12,760 19.2% 6,700 10.1% 4,230 6.4% 2,100 3.2% 850 1.3% 80 0.1% 3,030 4.6%
Pendle 41,550 25,150 60.5% 4,830 11.6% 4,620 11.1% 3,470 8.4% 1,880 4.5% 1,020 2.5% 550 1.3% 40 0.1% 1,610 3.9%
Preston 69,240 30,710 44.4% 13,400 19.4% 11,070 16.0% 7,360 10.6% 3,560 5.1% 2,020 2.9% 1,050 1.5% 70 0.1% 3,140 4.5%
Ribble Valley 29,440 3,880 13.2% 5,590 19.0%  5,750  19.5%  5,060  17.2%  4,250  14.4% 2,630 8.9% 2,040 6.9% 230 0.8% 4,900 16.6%
Rossendale 32,770 16,450 50.2% 5,230 16.0%  4,390  13.4%  3,460  10.6% 2,030  6.2% 720 2.2% 460 1.4% 40 0.1% 1,220  3.7%
South Ribble 52,000 10,110 19.4% 13,540 26.0%  12,960  24.9%  8,580  16.5%  4,430  8.5% 1,750 3.4% 600 1.2% 30 0.1%  2,380  4.6%
West Lancashire 52,270 14,850 28.4% 9,590 18.3%  10,420  19.9%  7,610  14.6% 5,340  10.2% 2,660 5.1% 1,690 3.2% 110 0.2%  4,460  8.5%
Wyre 55,510 12,010 21.6% 12,430 22.4%  13,340  24.0%  7,820  14.1%  5,920 10.7% 2,730 4.9% 1,140 2.1% 80 0.1%  3,950  7.1%
Lancashire-12 574,570 206,670 36.0% 111,930 19.5%  107,010  18.6%  70,470  12.3%  44,640  7.8% 21,520 3.7% 11,400 2.0% 930 0.2%  33,850  5.9%
Blackburn with Darwen 63,560 35,830 56.4% 9,860 15.5%  8,880  14.0%  4,850  7.6%  2,660  4.2% 830 1.3% 580 0.9% 70 0.1% 1,480 2.3%
Blackpool 72,500 32,100 44.3% 21,280 29.4%  11,470  15.8%  4,850  6.7%  1,950  2.7% 580 0.8% 250 0.3% 30 0.0% 860  1.2%
Lancashire-14 710,630 274,600 38.6% 143,070 20.1%  127,360  17.9%  80,170  11.3%  49,250  6.9% 22,930 3.2% 12,230 1.7% 1,030 0.1% 36,190  5.1%
North West 3,442,740 1,381,490 40.1% 700,310 20.3%  610,950  17.7%  360,780  10.5%  213,520  6.2% 103,170 3.0% 65,240 1.9% 7,280 0.2%  175,690  5.1%
England 25,571,400 6,088,720 23.8% 4,984,380 19.5%  5,606,380  21.9%  4,001,650  15.6%  2,502,260  9.8% 1,329,840 5.2% 905,110 3.5% 153,070 0.6%  2,388,020  9.3%

Source: Valuation Office Agency, dwelling stock by council tax band, 2024

For Lancashire-12, the percentage of properties in band 'B' (19.5%) was similar to the England average, but from C onwards the proportions for Lancashire fall noticeably below the norm for England. The highest tax bands of 'F' to 'H' together accounted for 9.3% of properties in England but just 5.1% in the Lancashire-14 area. In Ribble Valley and Fylde however, the proportions are 16.6% and 11.4% respectively. In contrast, Burnley (1.1%) and Blackpool and Hyndburn (both 1.2%) had very few dwellings in the top three bands.

Table 2 is available as a downloadable comma separated value file. It contains the total number of dwelling stock by each council tax band and the percentages in those bands.  

The band into which a new built property is placed will depend on factors such as the value of the land and the local housing market situation, rather than simply the size, number of rooms and cost of construction, although this might not be a significant issue for potential buyers. Our articles on additional affordable housing and earnings to house price ratios may be of interest.

Not all of the changes to the number of dwellings in each band are as a result of new build, demolitions or change of use . There are circumstances where householders may appeal against the band into which their property was originally placed. 

Page updated September 2024.

Table 2

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