Man complains of 'unfair' £5k empty home charge

Paul Woodhams needs to replace the boiler before moving into his new house

A homeowner says he feels that a £5,000 surcharge on council tax for his new house in "unfair".

Paul Woodhams bought the small house in Hayle for £174,000 and is carrying out renovations before he is able to move in.

The house was empty for a year before he bought it and the surcharge applies because it is attached to the property, not the owner.

Cornwall Council said it would not comment on individual cases but said it works with residents to resolve any issues with council tax. Empty property surcharges on council tax in Cornwall are 100% after 12 months, 200% after five years and over and 300% after 10 years and over.

The property in Hayle has not been updated since it was built in the 1980s

Mr Woodhams, 59, who works nearby as a printer, lives in another flat in Hayle but is unable to move as the outdated heating system needs to be replaced.

"I contacted the council to register the property and they said there's an empty property surcharge on it because it's been empty for over a year," he said.

"My council tax will be £845 in October as part of a £5067.08 overall charge.

"I understand that they need to reduce the number of empty homes but I'm local and I'd rather they had a look at things on a case-by-case basis."

'Stressful'

The charges for second homes and empty homes are laid out by Cornwall Council in a document which is publicly available.

Mr Woodhams said: "It seems unfair, I want to live here and if I knew about it I wouldn't have made the same offer for the house.

"It's been stressful, I've actually been to the doctor because I've had chest pains.

"Moving home is stressful anyway, and this is just one more thing that adds to it."