UK tourist hotspots are increasingly popular locations for Britons to invest in second homes but as more people buy in rural and coastal boltholes, some locals are being forced out of their local communities.
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has said he wants to stop local people from being “pushed out of cherished towns, cities and villages by huge numbers of short-term lets”.
Local authorities in Wales now have the power to increase the amount of council tax second homeowners must pay to prevent the hollowing out of communities. They can now collect council tax premiums on second homes and long-term empty properties at up to 300 percent. Neath Port Talbot Council is the latest to approve a consultation on a premium tax rate of 100 percent.
Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Flintshire and Powys have already increased the premium. Gwynedd councillors voted to set the premium at 150 percent – the highest in the country.
Rebecca Evans, the minister for finance and local government, said: “We want to ensure councils have the powers available to them to strike the right balance in local housing supply.”
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Second homeowners are able to apply for council tax reductions, with Westminster ruling last year that holiday lets must be available for at least 140 days and rented out for a minimum of 70 days a year to qualify.
Yet many owners claim they are a small business and pay business rates to avoid payments. More than 85,044 holiday let properties registered in the business rates lists in England and Wales are eligible for 100 percent business rates relief.
Real estate firm Colliers estimates that the system is losing councils around £170million a year.
So what do YOU think? Should all second homes be charged more tax? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
