Welsh council will drive householders to promote empty properties

Owners of properties left empty in a popular Welsh tourist spot will be forced by the council to sell up in a new scheme designed to rid the county of problematic homes.

Deteriorating properties in Pembrokeshire – home to Pembroke Castle and seaside town Tenby – will be sold to the council to bring them back into use.

The move is set to target ‘eyesores’ in the community, which the council says devalue nearby properties and encourage antisocial behaviour.

Properties that have been empty for more than two years in the local authority are currently slapped with a premium council tax rate of 300 per cent.

This new scheme will add a further deterrent for owners of dilapidated homes, which the council says can drain fire and police resources.

Second home owners in the holiday hotspot won’t be dragged into the forced sales

The council is hoping enforced sales will add to the ‘pool of much-needed housing’ in the county. 

Pembrokeshire has been blighted with a housing shortage due to high demand.

Second-home owners who have simply not visited their holiday property in more than a year will not be stung by an enforced sale, however.

The move is instead designed to bring problematic properties back into use, the council has said.

Only homes with no residents – permanent or short-term – that are not second homes will be dragged into the possibility of an enforced sale. Almost 3,000 are empty, officials have said.

Second-home owners will still need to pay a punitive premium council tax rate of 150 per cent, though this is set to drop to 125 per cent in April.

Welsh councils have powers to slap council tax premiums as high as 300 per cent on second homes.

The funds raised from this scheme in the county – which currently stand at £700,000 – will be used for the enforced sales, The Times reported.

Swathes of other councils across the UK have also hiked council tax bills for second home owners.

Councillors in Pembrokeshire yesterday approved the plan and it will come into effect on Friday.

A wide range of criteria must be met before the council can enforce a sale, councillors were told.

A report from Pembrokeshire council read: ‘It is important to stress that this procedure is likely to be rarely used and only in cases where there is no other option but necessary due the extent of works that the council has had to undertake to make improvements to the property. 

‘The main focus will always be that of informal and supportive action with property owners.

‘Every effort is made to engage with owners, however, it is often the case that they are unwilling or unable to undertake the necessary work and therefore enforcement action may be considered.’