Council Tax premium on second homes in England?

Dagliago

I know that some councils in Wales are now charging 100% premium on council tax on furnished second homes - doubling the normal amount. But are any councils in England doing this? Does English legislation even allow it? (And I am talking about fully furnished second homes, NOT unoccupied and substantially unfurnished empty ones - I know they can attract the 100% premium). Thanks.

MovingForwards

Yes, 100% is payable

https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-managing-2/can-i-get-a-discount-on-my-council-tax/

CIS

Dagliago said:

I know that some councils in Wales are now charging 100% premium on council tax on furnished second homes - doubling the normal amount. But are any councils in England doing this? Does English legislation even allow it? (And I am talking about fully furnished second homes, NOT unoccupied and substantially unfurnished empty ones - I know they can attract the 100% premium). Thanks.

Furnished homes in England are not subject to a premium as per Wales. The council however do not, in most cases, offer any discount so a full charge would apply.

p00hsticks

CIS said:

Dagliago said:

I know that some councils in Wales are now charging 100% premium on council tax on furnished second homes - doubling the normal amount. But are any councils in England doing this? Does English legislation even allow it? (And I am talking about fully furnished second homes, NOT unoccupied and substantially unfurnished empty ones - I know they can attract the 100% premium). Thanks.

Furnished homes in England are not subject to a premium as per Wales. The council however do not, in most cases, offer any discount so a full charge would apply.

Unless people offer their second home as a holiday let for at least 140 days of the year - in which case they can claim it is subject to Business Rates rather than council tax, get Small business Rate relief and end up paying nothing..... (plus receiving a nice little windfall during the pandemic)

Indigo_and_Violet

Hackney does: "If it remains empty for between 2 – 5 years owners will have a premium of 100% added to their bill. If it remains empty for more than 5 years owners will have a premium of 200% added to their bill, a 300% council tax charge." (https://hackney.gov.uk/council-tax-discount-exemption/#unoccupied)

CIS

Indigo_and_Violet said:

Hackney does: "If it remains empty for between 2 – 5 years owners will have a premium of 100% added to their bill. If it remains empty for more than 5 years owners will have a premium of 200% added to their bill, a 300% council tax charge." (https://hackney.gov.uk/council-tax-discount-exemption/#unoccupied)

That;s not specifically for a second home though in the same way as Wales. The Welsh legislation has a specific definition of second home (unoccupied and substantially furnished) . The English premium applies only to any property that is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished (i.e there is no specific  second home definition). Hackney have just stated a very simplified statement of the legislation (and I wish councils wouldn't).

p00hsticks said:

Unless people offer their second home as a holiday let for at least 140 days of the year - in which case they can claim it is subject to Business Rates rather than council tax, get Small business Rate relief and end up paying nothing..... (plus receiving a nice little windfall during the pandemic)

That's outside council tax provisions though.

Dagliago

Thanks CIS - you have confirmed what I suspected, that the legislation in Wales is more draconian than that in England. But I think they have a particular problem with second homes. And I agree with you about councils' simplified statements on legislation. They're often ambiguous - which is what prompted me to ask my original question. So thanks again for supplying some clarity.

CIS

Dagliago said:

Thanks CIS - you have confirmed what I suspected, that the legislation in Wales is more draconian than that in England. But I think they have a particular problem with second homes. And I agree with you about councils' simplified statements on legislation. They're often ambiguous - which is what prompted me to ask my original question. So thanks again for supplying some clarity.

I get clients coming all the time who have seen stuff written on council sites and are completely confused by it. At best it's confusing, at worst some are just plain wrong.

jenza8

CIS said:

Indigo_and_Violet said:

Hackney does: "If it remains empty for between 2 – 5 years owners will have a premium of 100% added to their bill. If it remains empty for more than 5 years owners will have a premium of 200% added to their bill, a 300% council tax charge." (https://hackney.gov.uk/council-tax-discount-exemption/#unoccupied)

That;s not specifically for a second home though in the same way as Wales. The Welsh legislation has a specific definition of second home (unoccupied and substantially furnished) . The English premium applies only to any property that is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished (i.e there is no specific  second home definition). Hackney have just stated a very simplified statement of the legislation (and I wish councils wouldn't).

p00hsticks said:

Unless people offer their second home as a holiday let for at least 140 days of the year - in which case they can claim it is subject to Business Rates rather than council tax, get Small business Rate relief and end up paying nothing..... (plus receiving a nice little windfall during the pandemic)

That's outside council tax provisions though.

Harrow Council have told us that they are charging us the premium on our second home which is furnished and is where my husband stays when he is working in the South (most weeks). Are they allowed to do this? On the phone they said that they charge the premium on second homes as well as on empty property but I cannot find any policy that they have visible to the public which states this. Their website just refers to properties which have been empty for 2 years

CIS

jenza8 said:

CIS said:

Indigo_and_Violet said:

Hackney does: "If it remains empty for between 2 – 5 years owners will have a premium of 100% added to their bill. If it remains empty for more than 5 years owners will have a premium of 200% added to their bill, a 300% council tax charge." (https://hackney.gov.uk/council-tax-discount-exemption/#unoccupied)

That;s not specifically for a second home though in the same way as Wales. The Welsh legislation has a specific definition of second home (unoccupied and substantially furnished) . The English premium applies only to any property that is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished (i.e there is no specific  second home definition). Hackney have just stated a very simplified statement of the legislation (and I wish councils wouldn't).

p00hsticks said:

Unless people offer their second home as a holiday let for at least 140 days of the year - in which case they can claim it is subject to Business Rates rather than council tax, get Small business Rate relief and end up paying nothing..... (plus receiving a nice little windfall during the pandemic)

That's outside council tax provisions though.

Harrow Council have told us that they are charging us the premium on our second home which is furnished and is where my husband stays when he is working in the South (most weeks). Are they allowed to do this? On the phone they said that they charge the premium on second homes as well as on empty property but I cannot find any policy that they have visible to the public which states this. Their website just refers to properties which have been empty for 2 years

No, they can't. They don't have the power to do so as it's not a provision within English council tax legislation. I'd love to argue that one with them !

jenza8

CIS said:

jenza8 said:

CIS said:

Indigo_and_Violet said:

Hackney does: "If it remains empty for between 2 – 5 years owners will have a premium of 100% added to their bill. If it remains empty for more than 5 years owners will have a premium of 200% added to their bill, a 300% council tax charge." (https://hackney.gov.uk/council-tax-discount-exemption/#unoccupied)

That;s not specifically for a second home though in the same way as Wales. The Welsh legislation has a specific definition of second home (unoccupied and substantially furnished) . The English premium applies only to any property that is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished (i.e there is no specific  second home definition). Hackney have just stated a very simplified statement of the legislation (and I wish councils wouldn't).

p00hsticks said:

Unless people offer their second home as a holiday let for at least 140 days of the year - in which case they can claim it is subject to Business Rates rather than council tax, get Small business Rate relief and end up paying nothing..... (plus receiving a nice little windfall during the pandemic)

That's outside council tax provisions though.

Harrow Council have told us that they are charging us the premium on our second home which is furnished and is where my husband stays when he is working in the South (most weeks). Are they allowed to do this? On the phone they said that they charge the premium on second homes as well as on empty property but I cannot find any policy that they have visible to the public which states this. Their website just refers to properties which have been empty for 2 years

No, they can't. They don't have the power to do so as it's not a provision within English council tax legislation. I'd love to argue that one with them !

Thank you. It's incredibly frustrating as we cannot speak to any of the actual officers who keep telling us it's an empty property. We've uploaded evidence including photos to show it's furnished and asked what else they need but then the advisor on the phone said Harriw are charging the premium on 2nd homes too and that it's up to each individual council to decide on their own rules.