Wales second homes: Council tax to double in two more areas

Two more Welsh councils are set to charge second home owners double the rate of council tax.

New rules mean local authorities can charge up to a 300% premium from 2023 to tackle the housing crisis.

Flintshire and Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) councils are now planning to charge a 100% premium, which could bring each an extra £400,000 a year.

As they grapple with funding pressures, they said it would protect services and keep council tax for residents down.

Most areas that charge the premium are in coastal, tourist areas. But after seeing an 80% increase in second homes since 2018, RCT will also introduce it, if the full council approves.

According to government body Stats Wales, there were 23,974 second homes subject to council tax in 2022.

While local authorities are currently able to charge second home owners double the rate - or 100% more - not all do.

Gwynedd and Pembrokeshire, for example, which have the largest number of second homes - 3,746 and 3,794 respectively - are charging a 100% premium.

However, earlier this month, councillors in Gwynedd decided to increase that to 150% from next year, with the extra money used to tackle homelessness.

A 25% increase is added in Ceredigion, while it is 50% in Conwy, Anglesey, Flintshire, Denbighshire and Powys.

However, councillors in Flintshire's cabinet have now decided to raise the rate to 100%, while owners of properties left empty for a long period without good reason will pay an extra 75%.

Members of Flintshire's ruling Labour group said this increase could raise £400,000 in the next financial year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The money can be used to keep down the council tax paid by usual residents and avoid cuts to frontline services.

Mold East councillor Chris Bithell described long-term empty properties as "immoral" at a time so many people are waiting for housing.

Hawarden and Mancot councillor Sam Swash said: "Like councils across Wales, Flintshire needs to find money - we cannot realistically make a case for increased funding from central government if today we refuse to use the powers we possess ourselves to increase revenue.

"A vote against this recommendation is a vote to find £400,000 from somewhere else. That would mean an extra 0.4 per cent increase in council tax bills for all Flintshire taxpayers."

RCT council's cabinet considered feedback from a consultation and approved a report that will now go before full council for final ratification.

It would see a 50% premium on properties which have been empty for between one and two years and a 100% premium on those empty for more than two years.

It is also proposed to charge a council tax premium of 100% for all properties classified as a second home.

The premium for long-term empty properties would come in from April 2023, while the premium for second homes would come in from April 2024.

The charges for the area's 2,000 long-term empty properties could raise £1.5m, with £400,000 extra from second homes.

There are about 346 of these in the local authority area. While a report said this is a low number, they have increased by 80% since 2018, and are left vacant for "long periods".

Cabinet member councillor Christina Leyshon said: "Empty properties have always had a detrimental effect on our communities not only as a loss of what could be a lovely home, much needed in RCT, but also on the dwellings adjoining these properties."