North Yorkshire: Second homeowners to pay double council tax

Whitby is a popular spot for second home owners in North Yorkshire

Second home owners will have to pay double the amount of council tax on properties in North Yorkshire after councillors approved the proposed rise.

Councillors hope the move will encourage people to sell or rent out their second homes to help local residents struggling to find housing.

It is expected to bring in £14m each year, which would be spent on housing.

Deputy council leader Gareth Dadd said the policy, due to start on 1 April 2024, brought him "deep pride".

"I see the real challenges for real people to find affordable housing," he said.

"The overwhelming majority [of second home owners] will be faced with releasing their second homes into the rental market, the sales market, or generating more homes across North Yorkshire."

But he said that in "exceptional circumstances" residents would be able to claim a council tax reduction.

The Conservative-run North Yorkshire County Council said that of the additional £14m around half would come from second homes on the coast in popular seaside towns such as Whitby and Runswick Bay.

There are 8,199 second homes in North Yorkshire, according to the National Housing Federation, the highest number in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Council tax for a band D property in Whitby is £2,116 for the 22/23 year. Under the new policy that would double to £4,232.

Councillor David Chance said hardly any of the homes in Staithes and Runswick Bay were now occupied permanently and the current situation was "tearing the heart out of our communities".

Mr Chance said: "In Staithes, for instance, we have 12 permanent residents in the lower village. In Runswick Bay we have 11 permanent residents in the lower village."

He said the rest of the properties in the villages were second homes or holiday lets.

There are more than 8,000 second homes in North Yorkshire

Councillor Janet Jefferson, who represents an area of Scarborough, said she had seen six families who were asked to leave their rented properties so they could be converted to holiday homes since March.

But councillor Stuart Pearson said the council risked losing income because second home owners would convert their properties to holiday lets and would then pay a lower rate of tax as a business, rather than council tax.

"It is the wrong way around, penalising achievers, penalising those who aspire, having been encouraged to do so by the Conservative Party themselves," he told the meeting.

He said the council should focus on building more affordable homes.

Mr Dadd said the council did not have control over how holiday lets were taxed but agreed to write to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities about their impact on the area.

The council tax rise for second homes was agreed by senior councillors in September and approved by the full council on Wednesday.