A group of senior councillors in Sussex have called for a change in the law that gives home owners a council tax discount on their second homes and cheapest landlord insurance after research found that more than 1300 second home owners in Brighton and Hove are currently receiving a discount on their council tax.
As it stands councils are legally bound to offer a discount of between 10% and 50% to second homeowners, adherence to the law has cost Brighton and Hove City Council almost £200,000 in lost revenue during the past twelve months. This has seen councillors urging the Coalition to change a system which favours occasional residents in an area that has a housing shortage. The council members have added their voices to similar complaints made by the unitary council in Cornwall.
The figures show that over half of the people who are claiming a second home discount are doing so for a property in council tax band D or above. The total number of homeowners who have become eligible for the discount has also increased by 6% during the last year. The properties are mostly owned by people who protect their house with holiday home insurance rather than landlord insurance and councils argue owners of second properties are wealthy enough to pay two council tax bills. Second homes receive a discount at the discretion of the local authority. The discount is a reflection of the fact that they are making much less use of all the local services that a primary household would.
Jason Kitcat, cabinet member for central services, said “We want local councils to have much more freedom over how they can raise and manage their incomes. While we would welcome the option to remove second home discounts, the wider issue is why successive Conservative and Labour-led governments have failed to give councils more power in respect of their finances.”