Empty properties face 300 per cent Council tax increase

Properties that have been left empty for a long time in the area could face a Council tax increase of 300 per cent.

Powys residents will be asked for their views on increasing the premiums.

A report recommending that Powys County Council holds a six-week consultation over the summer on a “stepped premium approach” was supposed to be discussed at today’s meeting of Powys County Council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour cabinet (Tuesday, June 23).

But it was pulled from the agenda at the last minute.

Instead, it will now be the focus of a special cabinet meeting on Tuesday, June 30.

Council leader Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod North) said: “Item seven on the agenda will be deferred. That is the paper on the Council Tax premium.

“That will go next week before a special meeting of cabinet to discuss that one item.”

From April 2023, Welsh Government expanded the discretionary powers available to local authorities, that allow significantly higher premiums of up to 300 per cent to be charged on long-term empty properties.

At the moment the council charges a 100 per cent Council Tax premium.

This means that the owners pay double the charge and this has been in place since April 2023.

The council calculates that in Powys there are 897 long-term empty properties in Powys and 153 of have been “empty and unfurnished” for more than 10 years.

The key questions residents will be asked include:

Should long term empty properties be the subject of a premium at all?

If so –  how long should the property be empty before it kicks in?

The options in the consultation document range from two years to over 10 years.

The second key question will be what percentage should the “stepped” Council Tax premium be?

The options will range from: not being charged at all: to 150 per cent, 200 per cent, 250 per cent or the maximum 300 per cent.

If agreed, the consultation is expected to be held for six weeks from June 29 to August 9.

This year, the 100 per cent Council tax premiums charged on long-term empty properties as well as the lesser premium charged at 75 per cent for second/holiday homes is expected to bring £4.7 million to the Powys coffers.

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service