Paying extortionate council tax on second home?

[NotaTorie]

I know how that sounds, but I am a HARD WORKING police officer with a second home in Wales (I live in England).

My council tax has just SHOT UP on my second home. This just doesn't feel fair at all. I contribute. I work so so hard. I don't think its very fair at all.

Are any of you in this position? After not even being able to travel down during covid this feels like such a kick in the teeth.

I make too much for social housing, but barely enough to rent my current place. I will never be able to my own home and it's because of people like you. You and your second home can f*ck off.

If you can't afford such a luxury you need to sell it rather than trying to gain sympathy from people worse off than you and in situations you helped to created by being so greedy.

Me too.

Is anyone else seeing THIS when picturing the OP?

(Not saying all police are like this btw, but I bet he is for sure!) He sounds entitled and bratty.

I live in a tourist area in Wales with a huge number of second homes. It's a tax grab because the Welsh government have a dream of starting their own construction company and building social housing. This is part of the plan.

The problems with locals buying is it will remain expensive to buy because so many folks when they retire sell up in England and move here so their second home becomes their primary home or they buy into the area. This puts enormous pressure on the NHS here with all the ill health that comes with old age.

The retirees here complain bitterly about tourists now they're no longer part of the problem.

So whether you rent out or sell it really will make no difference to our children who still can't compete with the income outsiders have.

👏

How absolutely terrible for you, if only you could do something like sell it, oh wait….
I am not generally against second home ownership (where would everyone else go on holiday?) but in areas where it is out of control this is a totally legitimate policy. And yes lots of people WORK HARD and don’t have a home at all.

Second homes make local housing unaffordable for local people. As far as I am concerned, council tax on second homes could never be high enough. Not happy? Sell your second home.

Honestly, how tone deaf can you be?

This made me laugh. Do you think the gold shoes could be too heavy too.

Just here for the deletion message 🤣

Although I’m really hoping they do this in my part of Devon…. There’s a real housing crisis here. Rents are absolutely ridiculous and most of us will never own a home in the place we grew up in. Disgraceful.

No sympathy for second home owners or Air BnB types either. Ruining communities just because they want the cash or to go to the beach twice a year. Fuck off.

Apparently it is an investment and will increase in value. That's why. Plenty of other ways to invest other than creating misery for people in tourist towns. To be fair, I like holiday cottages and don't have issue with that. It's the homes that sit empty all year round apart from a handful of weeks which bother me, just because it is an investment apparently. It's happening in my street. Three properties here and the owners are there a handful of weekends a year. It makes no sense. I'm not sure how much longer it will be an investment the case though the way things are going. It will be painful for owners and renters alike if there is a crash. Shouldn't have come to this in the first place and needed regulation years ago.

Yes.

You’re part of the reason housing in this country is so expensive, and people can’t afford even one house, and people are homeless. Ever heard of supply and demand? If you can afford a second home you’re well off and should be paying more tax. No sympathy here.

Ahh bless ya. My heart bleeds. Good on the Welsh government!

Apparently it is an investment and will increase in value. That's why. Plenty of other ways to invest other than creating misery for people in tourist towns. To be fair, I like holiday cottages and don't have issue with that. It's the homes that sit empty all year round apart from a handful of weeks which bother me, just because it is an investment apparently. It's happening in my street. Three properties here and the owners are there a handful of weekends a year. It makes no sense. I'm not sure how much longer it will be an investment the case though the way things are going. It will be painful for owners and renters alike if there is a crash. Shouldn't have come to this in the first place and needed regulation years ago.

It’s what’s supposed to happen. You are fortunate enough to be able to afford more than most people, and therefore you pay more tax than most people to support the less fortunate. Whether or not you work hard is irrelevant. Many, many people work in unpaid and poorly paid roles who will never own a home at all.

It’s a bit like getting a pay rise and complaining your tax has increased. That’s how this works.

When you own a second home, you aren’t there much and contribute very little to local economy. Wales is trying to make up for some of that deficit through council tax, and to discourage it by making it more expensive.

Unfortunately, with the cost of living rising we are all suffering. Many people will have to cut back. For some that might mean small changes within a lifestyle bracket. Others will drop a bracket. In the grand scheme of things dropping from one to two houses to one isn’t a crisis like many people are facing. It’s still a big lifestyle change.

You’re just going to have to work harder, get promotion, get a second job, retrain, eat less food, live on 33p a day, buy a mumsnet chicken that will do it.

Hi all, we are closing this thread while we take a closer look behind the scenes.

Haven't read the whole thread, but there is a huge difference between second homes - which sit empty for most of the year and contribute nothing to the community - and holiday homes. People on holiday generally spend more, eat out more, buy expensive trinkets etc, all of which contribute to the local community, as well as providing some (not a lot) of employment to locals in terms of cleaners, gardeners etc which wouldn't be a thing if the house were lived in. So a SMALL number of holiday homes in a Welsh village CAN be a good thing, or at least not necessarily a bad thing. People are priced out of the town where they were born all over the UK - my children will never be able to buy in my part of London. The difference is, my part of London will still have schools and pubs and post offices, whereas those things can be lost in rural communities without people using them regularly.

Workinghardeveryday

Well it's still here for now.

NotaTorie

I understand your frustration to a certain extent, but I don't know enough to fall on either side of the debate you've opened up.
Do you go there frequently ?
Do you let it Out? Do you employ locals for maintenance/cleaning/associated services?
Are you planning to live there on your retirement ?

You see, I have 3 children , each of whom I helped with purchasing their homes (I had the money, didn't see any point in making them wait til I die to have it)
If they had wanted to buy in one of the areas where there are lots of holiday homes they would have found themselves outpriced.

So while I appreciate that you perform a valuable service and have worked very hard to be able to afford your second home, I do find it a bit unreasonable that you complain about the council tax increase if you have taken up scarce housing stock while contributing little else to the local economy.