Angus Council considers doubling council tax on empty properties
ByRichard Watt
General view of a council tax bill.
PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday June 11, 2013. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire ... Council Tax Bill ... 11-06-2013 ... Leicester ... UK ... Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Archive. Unique Reference No. 16781316 ...
Angus council is considering dramatic moves to tackle the number of empty properties in the region.
Councillors meet this afternoon to discuss ditching the 10% council tax discount afforded to long-term empty housing.
But members will also be asked to consider more radical moves including a proposal to double council tax on empty properties.
The local authority has recommended that private housing could be subject to additional taxation.
This could lead to a maximum charge of between £988 and £2,965 per empty house, depending on council tax banding.
Housing legislation allows for increased taxation on properties left empty for more than a year for the purpose of “encouraging owners to bring back in to use their empty properties”.
Elected members agreed the possibility of a levy last year, pending a survey of the county’s empty homes.
Several options are open to the policy and resources committee, ranging from “no cut” for the discount to an additional 100%, with changes taking up to two years to take effect.
For a full report on what the council decides, see Wednesday’s Angus edition of The Courier.
Angus Council considers doubling council tax on empty properties
