Council tax on second homes will double

Landmark vote in North Yorkshire aims to boost housing supply and make it easier for locals to buy

Council tax is poised to double for second homeowners in North Yorkshire after the local authority voted to become the first in England to impose the levy. A 79-strong majority of councillors approved the £14.8million tax raid, saying it would make it easier for residents to buy their own homes. The Conservative-run county council said the move would fund new-build developments and incentivise those with multiple homes to sell.

COUNCIL TAX is set to double for second home owners in North Yorkshire after the local authority voted to become the first in England to impose the levy.

A 79-strong majority of councillors approved the £14.8million tax raid, claiming it would make it easier for locals to buy their own homes.

The Conservative-run county council said the move would increase the housing supply by funding newbuild developments and incentivising those with multiple homes to sell up.

Gareth Dadd, the council’s Tory deputy leader, hailed the “ground-breaking” vote and made no apologies for introducing the tax. “I support this not because I support greater taxation but because I see the real challenges for local people in finding affordable housing,” he said.

The increased tax will come into force from April 1, 2024, if the Government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill receives royal assent.

The Bill allows local authorities to impose council tax rises on second and empty homes but is still working its way through the House of Commons.

The devolved Welsh administration gave its councils the same powers in 2017 and will increase the premium to 300 per cent from April next year.

In May, Cornwall council said it would take full advantage if the new powers were granted. Linda Taylor, its Conservative leader, said: “It will provide us with extra revenue to go back into funding council services to benefit the residents of Cornwall.”

The at-times fiery debate at County Hall in Northallerton belied the comfortable majority by which the tax was agreed, with only one member voting against and another abstaining.

Cllr Stuart Parsons, an independent, accused the council of “running the risk of cutting its own throat”. He said: “Penalising achievers and those who aspire, having been encouraged to do so by the Conservative Party themselves, seems to be the wrong way round of dealing with this problem.”

Conservative councillor Andrew Lee supported the tax but he added: “Demonising second home owners and blaming them because people can’t afford to buy a house in a particular village, or have to move away, really is nonsense. The real problem is we are not building enough houses.”

The National Housing Federation estimates there are 8,199 second homes in North Yorkshire. The county’s most expensive properties are located in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales National Park, where average prices of nearly £400,000 are a third higher than the country as a whole.

Two written statements from members of the public opposed the motion.

Sue Hailey spoke of her “dismay” at the potential tax rise, saying she only owned a second home because she was a live-in carer for her Alzheimer’safflicted husband at a separate address.

She said: “If I did not care for my husband, he would have to receive care at a care home or go into care, with all the costs that this involves for the council.”

Julia and Steve Whitby, a couple who converted a vacant Methodist chapel into their second home, said they had increased the county’s supply of housing.