Empty properties to pay double council tax after a 12 months

Owners of empty properties pays double council tax after 12 months beneath Government plans – however grieving households will now get a 12 months’s grace. 

The Government is shaking up how council tax works to chop down on the variety of second properties and people left empty for lengthy durations.

The problems with second properties and vacant properties have sparked anger in areas reminiscent of Devon, Cornwall, Norfolk and elements of Wales. 

Many residents really feel their areas are affected by an inflow of vacation properties which can be empty for a lot of the 12 months, hollowing out communities and inflicting home costs to rise. 

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has now introduced tweaks to the second properties council tax premium, which lets native authorities double this tax on eligible properties.

The DHLUC stated it might permit councils to cost double council tax on properties after 12 months of being empty, down from two years presently.

But it’s going to additionally take away inherited properties from double council tax for as a lot as 12 months, to be kinder to grieving households 

The strengthened empty properties premium will come into impact from April 2024.

However, every council should wait at the least a 12 months earlier than bringing the additional fees in, so the earliest it’s going to occur is April 2025. The exemption for inherited properties may also apply from April 2025.

The more money raised will go to native authorities, who can spend it as they like. The adjustments will solely apply in England.

The second residence premium already applies, having been made legislation in October 2023 with the passing of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act.

But the Government needed to high-quality tune the foundations and canvass opinion, so consulted on the difficulty too.

The Government response to its session stated: ‘Large numbers of empty properties can contribute to housing provide pressures, while additionally lowering the desirability of native areas. 

‘Second properties can present flexibility to allow individuals to work in and contribute to the area people, while having the ability to return to a household residence in one other a part of the nation frequently. 

‘However, massive concentrations of second properties scale back the dimensions of the everlasting inhabitants, which may result in native companies changing into unsustainable.’ 

Local authorities minister Simon Hoare added: ‘Long time period empty properties are shutting native households and younger individuals out of the housing market as they’re being denied the chance to hire or purchase in their very own neighborhood.

‘So, we’re taking motion as a part of our long-term plan for housing. That means delivering extra of the precise properties in the precise locations and giving councils extra powers to assist in giving native individuals the properties they want.’

Almost all native authorities are planning to enhance their council tax by 4.99 per cent from April 2024.

The Government additionally abolished tax perks for properties rented as vacation properties within the current Budget, claiming that the measure would assist these in search of reasonably priced properties to hire and purchase.