Council tax bills to triple for long-term empty homes

BIRMINGHAM council tax bills are to be tripled for more than

360 homes which have sat empty for over five years to bring as many disused properties into use as possible.

It is also expected to generate an extra £500,000 for the authority which is looking to make around £27 million of cuts in 2020/21.

If approved it will follow on the introduction of a double rate applied previously to homes empty for more than two years.

In total, 2,257 properties are set to be affected by both premiums. The Birmingham Development Plan set out the need for 89,000 more homes in the city between 2011 and 2031, while thousands of people are currently sitting on the housing waiting list.

Cllr Tristan Chatfield (Lab, Weoley and Selly Oak), city council cabinet member for finance and resources, said: “We have a housing crisis locally, regionally and nationally, whilst local councils have suffered a decade of funding cuts.

“That has made it increasingly difficult for us to meet the needs and expectations of citizens, but this proposed policy is one way in which we can partially redress the balance, by incentivising property owners who are sitting on homes with no obvious intended use to get them back into circulation for people that are in need of a roof over their heads.

“For those who don’t take any action, we will be in a position to bill them and use the income that is generated on the services that people desperately need on a day-to-day basis. This policy strikes a good balance.”