Council plans to end tax discount on empty homes
OWNERS of properties which have been empty for more than six months will lose their 50% council tax discount under new plans being drawn up by Bridgend County Borough Council.
It is estimated that around 1,200 people across the county will be affected by the changes that, if approved, will come into force on April 1.
The local authority says removing the discount should help tackle issues with empty properties where owners have let them to fall into disrepair.
It is part of a wider strategy to deal with empty homes which involves using enforcement action such as Compulsory Pur- chase Orders, enforced sales and taking over the management of properties.
Under the plans the 50% discount will no longer apply to:
■ A property remaining empty and unfurnished after the initial six month exemption;
■ A property that has been under renovation for longer than 12 months;
■ A property remaining empty after the six months probate exemption has expired; and,
■ A property that is unoccupied but furnished and actively marketed for let or sale.
The council ended the 50% council tax discount on second homes and holiday lets in 2000.
Council officers say ending the discount could mean an additional £933,000 is raised in council tax in 2019/20.
But due to the way Welsh Government works out the annual funding grant for local authorities at the moment, the council will not benefit in direct financial terms from the additional money.
Officers also point out that full collection is “not a realistic assumption” due to there being an element of non-payment.
Councillors were due to vote on the plans at a full council meeting on January 23 but the decision was deferred after councillors asked whether officers could have discretionary powers to consider exceptional circumstances when dealing with probate cases.
Councillor Norah Clarke (Independent) said: “We need to understand it’s a very delicate situation when a member of your family passes away and you need to sell their house.
“Probate can take quite a long time, longer than six months, probably up to a couple of years.”
Councillor Stuart Baldwin (Labour) said families would have six months of a reduction.
He said: “While I recog- nise the emotional strains on families after a bereavement the family has six months at a reduced council tax rate before the 100% kicks in.
“Having previously worked covering empty properties in the valleys there have been cases of houses being left for 20 years – that’s 20 years of a home sitting empty when we continue to see homelessness rise.”
Councillor Tim Thomas (Plaid Cymru) said empty properties ran the risk of becoming magnets for anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping, and asked whether the council had considered charging owners double the council tax rates for some properties left empty.
Deputy leader Hywel Williams (Labour) said the council wanted to put the first policy change in place to see how successful it was before looking at further sanctions.
Councillor Matthew Voisey (Conservative) added: “Empty properties are a blight – it’s disgraceful to see properties that could be homes left unused. We have all got them in our wards – I do believe that using our powers of taxation to change behaviour is a rational approach.”
The move to end the council tax discount on empty properties after six months will come back before full council in February.