Long-term empty properties in Angus will be in line for a 110% increase in council tax payments in the next two years.
Councillors met to discuss ditching the 10% discount afforded to long-term empty housing and the policy and resources committee agreed with officers to increase taxation 100% on those that are not “actively marketed”.
Housing legislation allows for increased taxation on properties left empty for more than a year to encourage “owners to bring back in to use their empty properties”.
Elected members agreed the possibility of a levy last year, pending a survey of empty homes.
Several options were open to the policy and resources committee so members agreed to cancel the discount and backed the maximum increase.
Independent councillor David Fairweather worried over cases where empty homes would stay off the market due to external pressures or invalidity.
Committee convener Iain Gaul said: “This is for long-term empty properties that are not being actively marketed.”
The council had been consulted in the preparation of the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties) (Scotland) Bill, passed in October 2012.
In correspondence, the council stated that a level of evasion would be possible by “designating a dwelling as a second home rather than as long-term empty”.
It added: “Given that we have only moved to a 10% discount position on long-term empty dwellings from April 1 2012, we need time to evaluate the impact of the recent discount reduction and it is, therefore, unlikely that we would implement an additional levy within the next one to two years.”
In preparing evidence for how the levy would affect Angus, a survey was issued to 500 properties subject to the 10% discount, or were likely to be in the near future, and 162 responses were received.
Councillors considered a joint report by finance and planning heads Ian Lorimer and Vivien Smith.
The survey indicated that the majority of empty property owners wished to bring their properties back into use but are not doing so for a variety of reasons.
The report said it was clear any change in policy would need to be accompanied by support and help for taxpayers to quickly bring the properties back into use.