Consultation On Council Tax Proposal For Empty Homes

Newport City Council wants your views on a proposal to introduce a council tax premium on certain long-term empty homes. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

A consultation on the proposal to charge up to 200 per cent on vacant homes begins today and ends on 31 October. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Give your opinion on the proposal at www.newport.gov.uk/haveyoursay – all submissions will be considered by the council before a final decision is made. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Long-term vacant houses have a detrimental impact on the communities in which they are located and often cause problems for neighbours. Bringing them back into use could improve the quality of life in those communities, while also increasing the availability of affordable homes. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The council has tools that it can use to tackle this issue, such as the houses into homes loan scheme for property owners. However, it believes this additional financial levy will discourage long-term disuse at the same time as providing funds to enable it to work with property owners to bring dwellings back into use.
As of May 2017, there were 2,516 vacant properties in Newport and 1,142 of these were exempt from council tax for a variety of reasons such as undergoing major work to make them habitable. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

However, of the remaining 1,104 homes, 755 had been vacant for more than 12 months. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

It is being proposed to charge the premium on properties that have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for a continuous period of at least 2 years. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Occupying or furnishing a house for one or more periods of six weeks or less during the year will not affect its status as a long-term empty dwelling. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​