Council tax increase for empty properties
0Councils are set to be handed powers to triple council tax bills on empty homes.
The government has this week introduced an amendment to the Rating Property in Common Occupation and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill in the House of Lords.
The amendment would allow local authorities to charge a premium of 100% from April 2019, 200% from April 2020 and 300% from 2021.
A statement from the government said that councils “will be able to use funds from the premium to keep council tax levels down for hard working families”.
The government said powers introduced in 2013 allowing authorities to charge a 50% premium had reduced the number of homes empty for six months or more from 300,000 to 200,000.