Second homeowners and private landlords who do not rent out their empty properties are to be hit with council tax increases as ministers move to end the madness of the system that encourages leaving properties empty.
The Government are about to announce their plan to abolish discounts on holiday homes that are only used at the weekend and they will also impose an extra premium on any home that is left empty for more than two years. The coalition feels that it is wrong for there to be around a million empty homes in the United Kingdom with 730,000 of these in England alone. It is estimated that bringing the homes back into use could half the number of people waiting on council housing lists across the country. The Government would like private landlords to forget about empty home insurance and instead install tenants and cover their properties with landlord insurance. Andrew Stunell, the Lib Dem communities minister, will confirm the plans to stop councils giving discounts and he will also push ahead with the empty homes premium.
Mr Stunell said: “We’ve lived with the scourge of empty homes for too long. They’re a blight on our communities and a waste of much-needed housing. It’s madness that councils have been forced to offer discounts on empty and second homes, which don’t take into account local circumstances and provide an incentive to leave homes vacant indefinitely.”
The Lib Dems have for some time been pushing for a clampdown on second homeowners after arguing some parts of the country have become ghosts towns during the winter when properties stand empty. Cornwall is one of the biggest losers through discounts offered to second homeowners as they miss out on more than £2m yearly. However, there are concerns that, with councils facing cuts of up to 10% in their funding, those areas without large numbers of second homes or empty properties will be forced to find savings elsewhere.