Chalet owners may get tax discount reinstated

Owners like Jean Stephenson say they do not believe their chalets should be classed as second homes

Chalet owners could have a 50% council tax discount reinstated after a local authority backed the move.

For several decades until last year, owners in Allonby were given the discount in part because their properties could not be accessed in the winter.

But it was removed from the 42 chalets after the dissolution of Allerdale Council in 2023.

Now Cumberland Council has voted in favour to bring the reduction back from April, with a final decision to be taken next month.

The discount is included in the proposed budget for 2024/25, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But the council is also waiting on government guidance about the future of its proposal to apply a 100% council tax premium on second homes in the area from 2025.

Owners in the dark

The Conservative MP for Workington Mark Jenkinson said it is unclear if Allonby residents will face a major council tax hike in 2025 because the chalets are classed as second homes.

Mark Blacklock, a member of the Allonby Chalet Owners campaign group, said “we don’t know where we stand” when it comes to the 2025/2026 financial year.

Cumberland Council said: "The proposed budget for 2024/25 does include the reinstatement of a 50% discount for those Class A properties that are second homes and have seasonal occupancy clauses.

"This budget will be considered on 6 March at council.

"In its consultation document, the government did indicate that these properties would remain exempt from the second-home premium, but we, like all councils, are still awaiting the guidance to see the detail on this."

Mr Blacklock said the group understood the problem facing the region with empty second homes and the need for a council tax premium for these properties.

“We’re not doing that – we’re there a lot of the year – using local pubs, cafes, builders, joiners,” he said.

The owners previously said their chalets are too be basic to be considered second homes.

Last year, chalet owner Jean Stephenson told the BBC that if the second home premium was applied, annual bills could rise to more than £2,000 and force many to abandon their properties.

"They're not permanent homes. They're sub-standard," she said.