Move to double council tax for owners of second homes in Derbyshire Dales described as “playing whack-a-mole with rich people”

In a Derbyshire Dales District Council meeting councillors agreed, in principle, to charge second home owners double tax when new legislation is adopted.

A new law allowing for double council tax to be charged to second home owners is expected to be adopted in April, with further detail on how it will be implemented to follow, with potential for a long list of circumstances under which second homeowners may be exempt.

The council did not decide on the night how extra income brought in by the authority through the extra tax would be used. Nor did they decide to ask to keep all of it, instead of sharing with the county council. These decisions have been postponed until after local elections in May.

Cllr Peter O’Brien said the real issue facing the Dales was with holiday homes, not second home owners.

He said: “Second home owners are far more likely in general to contribute positively to the local community.

“I think it is the uncontrolled spread of holiday homes that is the greatest threat to the sustainability of our villages.”

He said research in Wales had shown that there was no evidence to support the idea that levying a higher level of tax on holiday home owners led to a reduction in their numbers – but instead saw higher holiday home rates.

This evidence, he said, showed council tax needed to be nearer 300 per cent before it showed the intended impact of reducing numbers.

Cllr O’Brien said: “I think we need to be wary about raising expectations as to the positive impact this is going to have on communities.

“There is widespread scepticism that has been brought to my attention by residents as well as by second home owners that this premium is just another way of raising income for local authorities.

“From a moral perspective I think it should be clear that it will be used for affordable housing purposes.”

He said North Yorkshire had pushed to keep 100 per cent of the extra council tax monies through the second home premium, and that this should be used solely to boost the availability of affordable housing.

Cllr Sue Burfoot said: “We must all be aware of the impact of second homes on our communities.

“(The report says we have) 984 second homes in the Derbyshire Dales and they are concentrated on what is pretty clear are deemed to be the most desirable areas and the Derbyshire Dales is full of desirable areas isn’t it?

“I don’t put any blame on anybody who is lucky enough to be able to afford a second home. I think as a council we have got to take a balanced view.

“It does distort the housing market. The majority of these homes are in the low bands (lower council tax). Those who don’t want to move out of their village have got a bit more chance of that (if they are given up by second home owners and become available for the general public again).”

Cllr Steve Wain said: “I’ll be greatly disappointed if anyone didn’t really want to see an increase in affordable homes in this area.”

He said the council was rarely able to ensure that 30 per cent of each new development was affordable housing – in line with its own policies.

Cllr Wain said that on some large developments including hundreds of homes, there would be zero affordable homes or as low as 14 per cent, due to backtracking from developers, typically over financial viability.

Cllr Neil Buttle said: “I don’t want to penalise people who have made reasonable choices in the past and trying to change their behaviour through hitting them with a premium on their council tax.

“It doesn’t strike me as being an essentially fair way to go about our business, but I do see it as a massive and really good signal that we should be prioritising our residents and their opportunities to live and work in the places in which they live.”

He called the extra council tax a “blunt instrument” and should look for other methods, such as restriction on the uses of homes – blocking them from being used as second homes or holiday lets.

Cllr Buttle said: “We are going to be playing whack-a-mole with rich people who are going to be popping up all over anyway. It is a rubbish method but I’m going to vote for it.”

The council would look to bring in the double council tax for second home owners from April 1, 2024.

It says parts of Cornwall, the Lake District and Wales are host to hotspots of higher than 50 per cent of residential properties being second homes.

The authority said: “This means that the availability of lower-cost homes is severely restricted. House prices become inflated and cash buyers consistently gazump local people trying to get on the housing ladder.”

It says one in every 20 homes in the Dales are “not being used for the purpose of providing a residential dwelling”.

The council says empty homes, holiday lets and second homes account for around 1,750 properties in the Dales, out of 35,000.

There are 984 second homes in the Dales, as of January 31.

It says second homes in the Dales are concentrated in a “spine” running through Wirksworth, Bakewell, Hathersage and Eyam.

The council says a premium on second home owners could bring in £1.85 million extra a year, split between all the authorities that make up the annual council tax bill – with £257,000 going to the district council and most, £1.3 million, going to the county council.

It hopes to secure a 50/50 per cent split between the district council and the county council.