Issue - meetings

To consider proposed changes to Waverley’s Council Tax empty homes discount and empty homes premium.

Recommendation

Subject to the consideration of the comments from the Value for Money and Customer Service Overview & Scrutiny Committee, the Executive is asked to recommend to Council that:

            i.          the discretionary 50% 6-month Council Tax discount for “empty and substantially unfurnished properties” is abolished from 1 April 2019; and,

            ii.         the maximum additional council tax premiums on long term “empty and unfurnished properties” be applied according to the commencement dates in paragraph 17.

71.1     Cllr Beaman advised the Executive that the Committee endorsed the overall approach of using council tax flexibilities to encourage homeowners and landlords to bring empty properties back into occupation. However, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee suggested that the 50% discount be retained for 1-month, rather than being abolished altogether: this would allow time for landlords, including the Council, to carry out safety checks to properties between tenants. This was also more in-line with the approach of other Surrey districts.

71.2     Cllr Hall thanked the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for their consideration of the report and comments, and support of the principle of the Council doing what it can to bring empty homes into use. The current empty homes Council Tax discount of 50% for 6 months was the most generous scheme in the south-east.

71.3     Whilst the recommendation in the report was to abolish the discount entirely, having listened to the reasoning of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Hall proposed an amendment to the first of the two recommendations, so that the discretionary 50% discount for ‘empty and substantially unfurnished properties’ would be reduced to 1 month from 1 April 2019. The amendment was seconded by Cllr King, and unanimously agreed by the Executive to become the substantive recommendation.

71.4     The Executive, having considered the comments of the Value for Money and Customer Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee, then RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to Council that:

            i.   the discretionary 50% 6-month Council Tax discount for “empty and substantially unfurnished properties” is reduced to a 50% 1-month discount from 1 April 2019; and,

            ii. the maximum additional council tax premiums on long term “empty and unfurnished properties” be applied according to the following commencement dates:

·         200% extra (for properties empty for 5-10 years) (commencing in April 2020), and

·         300% extra (for properties empty for 10+ years) (commencing in April 2021)

[Reason: to encourage landlords and homeowners to bring empty properties back into occupation.]