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Proposal to charge a Council Tax premium for Empty Properties

From 1st April 2017, Councils in Wales have been able to charge higher amounts (a premium) of up to 100% on top of the standard rate of council tax on second homes and long-term empty properties. The legislative changes were made by the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 and the powers given to Councils are discretionary. Whether to charge a premium on second homes or long term empty properties (or both) is, therefore a decision to be made by each Council.

Further information and a link to exemptions is found in the main report

Updated tables can be found here

The Council remains committed to maximising the availability of good quality housing for our residents and reducing the number of long standing empty properties, which have a negative impact on our communities. However, there remains 2,275 empty properties across the County Borough, 660 of which have been empty for 5 years or more.

The proposal is that a Council Tax Premium is introduced on long-term empty properties at 50% for those which have been empty for up to 5 years.  The level of premium would then increase to 100% for those properties which have been empty for more than 5 years.

We would like views on the proposal