Suffolk second home-owners to pay for council services

Southwold, a seaside town, looking out to the North Sea welcomes visitors all year round

Second home-owners in holiday towns will no longer be able to use a "loophole" to avoid paying council tax or business rates, councillors decided.

East Suffolk Council agreed that all holiday lets registered as businesses will also have to pay for waste collections.

Conservative councillor Steve Gallant said it was to stop individuals who "line their own pockets".

Liberal Democrat David Beavan said it was all about "decency and fairness".

Southwold's pier is popular with holiday makers

At the moment, anyone who owns a second home can register it as a holiday let business and not pay council tax, but the system was being abused by people who were then not letting out their homes, the council meeting heard.

As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, businesses with a rateable value of £12,000 or less, receive a rates relief of 100%,

Councillors agreed that a home registered as a business would also be required to pay for commercial waste collection, would not be allowed free household bin collections, and would not be allowed to use residents' parking spaces and household waste recycling centres.

It affects towns and villages such as Aldeburgh, Southwold and Walberswick, where as many as 60% of properties are second homes.

Thorpeness was built as a holiday destination on Suffolk's coast

Conservative leader Mr Gallant, said: "I am aware of the behaviour of some individuals who seek to use a loophole in the current legislation to line their own pockets with scant regard for the effect this has on both our council and our residents.

"Those that choose to opt out of council tax should not avail themselves of the services that we as a council provide to our council taxpayers."

Mr Beavan highlighted the case of a London resident who, during the Covid pandemic, regularly travelled to Southwold where he has a home registered as a holiday let that had no customers last summer.

"The loophole reflects badly on all second homers and divides our communities," he said.

He added local people, who could not afford one home, should not have to "subsidise these fraudsters with two homes".

A neighbourhood plan, being drawn up in Southwold and Reydon, was looking at trying to introduce a provision that all new homes would be for principal residents only - meaning new homes would not be allowed to be used as second homes.