Second home owners in the South Hams area of Devon will soon have to pay double the council tax amount for the area.
South Hams District Council councillors have unanimously agreed to adopt a 100% Council Tax Second Homes Premium as soon as legislation allows.
In May 2022, the Government published the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill, which included proposals to allow the introduction of a council tax premium of up to 100% in respect of second homes. The aim of the policy is to help councils address local housing shortages.
The Bill is likely to become law from 1 April 2024.
Cllr Judy Pearce, leader of South Hams District Council, said: ‘The long-term viability of communities within the South Hams has been detrimentally affected by the level of second homes ownership. The sheer quantity of second homes means that house prices are pushed upwards. This can deny a home to a local resident as prices are pushed outside of what they can reasonably afford. This is especially acute for the younger generation.’
Cllr Pearce added: ‘We're not declaring war on second homes; we're simply levelling the field to make it easier for our local residents to find somewhere to live, let alone somewhere to buy. We know that the majority of people can't afford the prices of houses around the area at the moment. We do stand in solidarity with our local residents because they all have a right to have somewhere decent to live.’
Cllr Julian Brazil, leader of the opposition, commented: ‘I am absolutely delighted that this motion has come about as a joint motion with the leader of the council, we speak as one in this council. This is absolutely the right way forward. It will make a massive difference to us. To people who say it is an attack on second homeowners, it is not. What it is, is asking them to pay a fair share to our communities. They're in the lucky position to own not one, but two houses, when many of our local families here struggle to own just one.
‘The fact that they pay a little bit more should be compared to the increase in value of their second homes. Before the latest hiccup in the economy, house prices in the South Hams increased by around 25% in the last year. Increases of hundreds of thousands of pounds. We are asking them to pay a little bit extra to support the services that we struggle to deliver.’
