Kent second home owners to pay double council tax

Medway Council expects to raise more than £1m from charges on second homes and empty properties combined

People with second homes in Kent will have to pay twice as much council tax from next April after local authorities in every district voted to increase the charge.

With more than 7,500 such properties in the county, councils hope the move will raise money, discourage second home ownership and free up properties amid a housing crisis.

A second home is defined as a furnished property that is not a primary residence or rented out.

The new rules bolster existing powers on long-term empty homes, classified as substantially unfurnished and unoccupied, and Kent's councils estimate new rates for second homes and empty homes combined will raise an extra £3.77m a year.

'Lifestyle choice'

However, Paula Higgins, Homeowners Alliance chief executive, said for many who own second homes as a “lifestyle choice”, higher bills may not encourage them to rent or sell.

She said owners could bypass the rules by renting their properties out for 70 days a year, seeing them taxed as small businesses rather than private homes.

She also told the Local Democracy Reporting Service money would not be ploughed back into affordable housing, adding: “There’s lots of reasons why houses aren’t being built and this money will go back into the local authority’s coffers – it will do nothing to help the housing crisis.”

Councils were given powers to charge extra council tax on second homes under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.

Thanet District Council said the new rates on second homes would raise an extra £540,800 a year.

With empty homes, owners were previously charged double council tax after two years, but that will be reduced to one year from next April.

Those who have homes empty for five years will still pay three times as much, and four-fold for properties unoccupied for a decade or more.

Medway, which has 341 second homes and 392 empty properties, will raise the most, at just over £1m.

Gravesham, with 21 second homes and 148 unoccupied properties will gain £18,000, the lowest in Kent.