Cyngor Gwynedd to outline “favoured options” on council tax premiums for second and long-term empty homes

A North Wales council is due to recommend its “favoured options” on council tax premiums for second and long-term empty homes.

Cyngor Gwynedd will seek a decision over keeping the premiums, “as they are” for the 2027/28 financial year.

At its meeting on Tuesday, November 10, the Cabinet is due to recommend that “no discount” is given on Class A second homes.

It also proposes approval of “no discount” and raising a premium of 150% on class B second homes.

The council also favours giving “no discount” on homes that have been empty for six months or more whilst raising a premium of 150% on homes that have been empty for 12 months or more.

If approved, the recommendations will go to the full council on December 3, 2026, where a final decision will be made.

The council is obliged to make an annual decision if it is to levy a premium on
the council tax on long-term empty dwellings and second homes – also known as “periodically occupied dwellings”.

Without a decision, there would be a 50% discount on the council tax of such properties.

For the financial year 2026/27, the council had raised a council tax premium of 150% on both second homes and long-term empty dwellings.

However, legislation allows the council to charge a premium of up to 300% if it wants.

“If the council were to increase the premium rate it will have to consider whether such a decision would be reasonable after considering statutory guidance, the result of research and legal advice which the authority has obtained,” the cabinet report stated.

Since the introduction of the premium at the start of the 2018/19 financial year, the money collected through it has been placed in a
dedicated fund for specific projects outlined in the council’s housing action plan.

The council’s housing strategy has a vision of: “ensuring that the people of Gwynedd have access to a suitable home of a high standard that is affordable and improves their quality of life”.

Over the lifetime of the scheme, a total of over £200 million will be invested, supporting more than 17,000 people.

Since the 2023/24 financial year, £3m (increased with inflation) has been used within the revenue budget to fund the homelessness service.

“The funding received from the council tax premium fund is fully earmarked against several projects in the housing action plan, such as supported accommodation schemes, building our own houses, contributing to residential elements in community schemes, bringing the county’s empty houses back into use, and ensuring disabled people can continue to live in their current homes.”

The report noted the housing strategy identifies five objectives, firstly that “no-one is homeless in Gwynedd and that social housing is available to all”.

“That everyone’s home in Gwynedd is affordable to them, that Gwynedd’s housing is environmentally friendly and that homes have a positive influence on the health and well-being of the people of Gwynedd.”

By Dale Spridgeon – BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service