Council to warn empty property owners of looming council tax hikes

Owners of second homes or long-term empty properties in Caerphilly will soon receive letters warning them of a council tax hike.

Caerphilly County Borough Council agreed earlier this year to introduce council tax premiums on such properties.

The policy is designed to bring unused or underused homes back into use – with thousands of people on the council’s waiting list for somewhere to live.

In March 2024, the council backed extra council tax charges, effectively doubling bills for owners of second homes.

Councillors also supported a measure to bring in a sliding scale of council tax premiums for owners of long-term empty properties.

Those who own a home which has been empty for longer than two years will pay double their usual council tax bill for that property, rising to triple for those properties empty for longer than three years, and quadruple for those empty for five years or more.

The council has previously estimated there are 885 long-term empty homes in the county borough, including 264 which have been out of use for five years or longer.

“Increasing the council tax charges on long-term empty properties and second homes will encourage the owners to bring their properties back into use for the benefit of the local community and not waste valuable housing,” said Cllr Shayne Cook, the cabinet member for housing.

“We are writing to all those affected to ensure they have plenty of advanced notice of the changes that will be implemented in April next year.”

The council has made tackling unused properties a priority, setting up an Empty Homes Team to encourage owners to bring buildings back into use through various grants and support.

Where that fails, the team can also pursue enforcement options.

Housing charity and advice organisation, Shelter Cymru, has described empty properties as “represent[ing] waste, financial expense and missed opportunity for providing much needed affordable housing” in Wales.

Their presence can “blight” communities and lead to knock-on effects such as fly-tipping, vandalism and the devaluation of neighbouring homes.

In Caerphilly, the council has previously said its council tax premiums will “incentivise” owners to take the initiative and seek its support, rather than get hit by a hefty bill.

Public opinion during a consultation period, however, showed a degree of opposition to the approach.

One in four respondents “strongly disagreed” with measures to reduce the number of long-term empty homes – but around 40% of people who took part in the consultation said they owned such properties.

At the time, a senior council officer said it was “no surprise that where this could have a financial impact on people, they aren’t going to be supportive”.