Second Home owners doing sad faces in the press about council tax increase

[CornishTickler]

Just read an article online about the second home council tax increase and there are couples with sad faces saying it was without warning and is against their human rights! It wasn't, its been in the press and talked about by councils for over a year. It wasn't a surprise, areas with high levels of second homes knew it was coming.

I for one am glad about the tax. Our village has been destroyed by second home owners for years. A lot are badly maintained and empty for 80% of the year.

The argument that they bring extra income is also misleading. Most true second home owners who only visit a couple of times a year don't contribute much to the economy but are very vocal in interfering in local issues to the detriment of actual residents. One example (I'm not joking on this) was to oppose the planning of a local business that would benefit the community with jobs and tax revenue because of the endangered newts! luckily common sense prevailed but honestly they got very vocal and aggressive about it. It was mainly because they didn't want it to impact their second home.

Holiday makers bring revenue. Absentee second home owners do not.

Hopefully the second home tax increase will increase council tax revenue and help to support our community and vulnerable people.

We have a second home in a seaside town that's quite mixed tourism and permanent residents in an area that's quite heavily taxed, not in the UK. We bought it a long time ago and have contributed heavily to the local economy, but we started to feel bad about owning a property in a place that had taken off both as a tourist destination and somewhere for people from a major city to relocated, leaving a lot of the locals unable to afford property.

We ended up finding a couple, who were teachers in the local school to live in it rent free in exchange for a bit of caretaking, the only caveat being they would need to clear out when we wanted to use it. It's worked out incredibly well. The house isn't empty and we're now on our third set of caretakers as the first two have been able to save up enough to buy their own houses.

Some people seem to be unintentionally caught. I have a relative who separated and moved elsewhere, whilst retaining their half share of the marital home. The other owner has died. This is treated as a second home, with no exemption as one owner is still living. It will be sold but we don't have probate yet so can't sell and have no access to funds to pay the council tax at the normal rate, never mind double.

The Welsh have been effective in dealing with second home owners effectively for decades, I remember it from childhood, aka 'Come home to a real fire'. And it was not a British Gas advert!

Let me just be clear on this point as its brought up a lot.

If its a Local selling the property as a second home or a non resident selling it, both are equally part of the problem. So this argument is irrelevant and doesn't actually look at solving the problem just shifting blame.

It doesn't matter who sells or who buys, we need to increase revenue from persistently vacant properties for the community. This will help towards significant problems of homelessness and deprivation that are impacting the community. These are very real and urgent problems we are facing.

You can apply to the council for exemption.

We are selling MiLs house (in Cornwall!) which we inherited and do not have to pay double as it's on the market.

While agreeing that something needs done about 2nd homes, I have a problem with double council tax. Council tax is meant to pay for local services, and 2nd home owners are using less services. I think it needs doing through national taxation.

I agree but I who sold them their second home in the first place? It seems that a lot of local people are keen to sell their properties to second home owners, maybe there should also be penalties for them too.

Well usually they also want to buy in the local area, most house sales are not because all the inhabitants have died. And even when people have died, say I inherited my parents’ house in a holiday area that would be my only chance to get on the housing ladder there myself.

If they changed the rules as some have suggested eg have to apply for chance of use to the council then that would be a restriction on locals selling up too and would be fair. Are you in favour of that?

In Scotland, or in our authority anyway, second homes have been paying double for a while now. It’s made a huge difference to our village.

Most of the cottages round the harbour were second homes. Like previous posters have said, a lot of them were sat empty for most of the year. I’m guessing some were inherited, or bought on a whim - house prices are relatively low here. A lot of the cottages were in a state of disrepair.

When the increase came in, lots of them were sold off and have since been renovated. They’re now occupied for most of the year - either as holiday cottages or homes. The whole harbour area has been regenerated.

The increase in council tax gave a lot of people the kick up the bum they needed to sell them off.

Surely, most people would prefer to buy if they could afford it. It is very rare that people don't profit from owning a home, wheras rent is just dead money. It is more likely that even at what you think are low prices, many of the locals won't be able to afford to save for a deposit and get an affordable mortgage.

I disagree with this.
Locals can’t all be up in arms about second home ownership, but then be perfectly happy to accept the much higher house prices outsiders are prepared to (and can afford to) pay for homes they wish to sell.
If locals don’t want second home owners in their towns and villages, they should forego the benefits of selling to them I.e. higher purchase prices.

Council tax is meant to pay for local services, and 2nd home owners are using less services

perhaps they are are leading to increased housing benefit cost to the council though?

I said "particularly if your own second home".

You are fully exempted until you get probate sorted out? Surely?

Local people are not one homogeneous group.

There will be some that are greedy and some that are on the bones of their arse due to the dire situation.

So yes, locals have a right to be up in arms because we all have a point of view.

The majority want the situation to be addressed and thankfully it is being addressed.

Quite.

And certainly in our village it isn't 'locals selling to second home owners' for years second home owners have been the only ones able to afford to buy the properties from other second home owners. The locals don't get a look in.

Believe it or not buyers aren't always upfront either that they intend to use it as a second home. Our landlord (we are tenant farmers) sold a property about 10 years ago to a family who had intimated they were relocating to the area. Our landlord chose them over other buyers because they wanted it to be used as a family home.

It was nonsense - the kids were in private schools elsewhere and the family only use the (beautiful four bedroom farmhouse) during holidays. It sits empty the rest of the time.

Yeah, they never blame themselves for selling their houses to second home owners though. They could sell to a local family, but don’t.

I understand that, but none of the ire is directed towards those who have sold out. Only towards those who have bought (and often paid more than any local would) in good faith.

As I say, I own a second home and am happy (well, you know.. 😂) with the policy, even though there’s no housing shortage where ours is.

Second home owners aren’t one homogenous group either…

I agree. I remember reading (a few years ago now) of a village in Devon full of empty second homes for most of the year. The residents’ children could not afford to buy and there were no houses available anyway. The second home owners brought their own food etc and didn’t contribute to the local economy in any way.

No, because there is a surviving joint owner. Who hasn't lived there for over a decade.

We can get the exemption when it's on the market. Which is not because we don't have probate yet. If there was no living joint owner we would get the exemption but because there is we can't

Only if you re just as greedy as the second home owners you are slagging off.

When there is a shortage of homes there is no such thing as a modest second home owner.