Second home owners hit with double tax bill

The council says this is an effort to "combat housing shortages"

Second home owners in a Surrey borough will be hit with double council tax bills in an effort to "combat housing shortages".

Spelthorne Borough Council has agreed to introduce a 100% council tax premium on furnished properties that are not used as someone's main home, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The change, set to start from 1 April 2027, means affected owners will pay twice the standard council tax rate on their second house.

Conservative councillor Darren Clarke said at the council meeting: "There are better ways in order to try and occupy more homes than just increasing the amount of council tax that can be levied against them, in a kind of cash grab."

Members agreed to initiate the changes for second homes and properties that have been empty for a year at a full council meeting on Thursday.

The decision came after the government changed local authority powers to set council tax for empty second homes.

A council report stated the policy was "to encourage owners to bring the properties back into the housing market for occupation to combat housing shortages nationwide whilst obtaining further council tax payments to fund local services".

The LDRS reported only 76 properties in the borough would be affected by the change, according to council documents.