Plans for doubling council tax for owners of second homes, to help ease housing pressures 

People who own second homes in Shropshire are due to face a doubling in council tax from 2024 to help ease housing pressures, under proposals as part of Shropshire Council’s budget. 

The move, which is subject to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill becoming law in Parliament, aims to help prevent more and more homes, particularly in rural areas of the county where homes are in short supply, from becoming second homes.  

The council says that an additional charge could, over time, help make more homes available for Shropshire residents. 

Currently around 1% of the county’s 149,000 properties are registered as second homes. 

Second homes in Shropshire are already charged at the full rate for council tax, and the proposed change would double this. 

Any change would need at least a year to come into effect and so, subject to changes in national law, this would be applied from April 2024. 

Gwilym Butler, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for finance and corporate resources, said:-

“This is about doing what we can to help ensure that as many properties as possible are available for Shropshire people to have as their homes, rather than being used sometimes for only a few weeks a year as second homes. 

“Because Shropshire is such a beautiful place there are some parts of the county where the number of second homes is becoming a real problem, and is affecting the ability of local residents who live there all year to find suitable homes for renting or buying. 

“We will also be working closely with holiday letting businesses, which play an important part in the Shropshire economy, to make sure that this targets those who are abusing the system to their advantage and does not penalise tourism businesses who are helping attract even more visitors here. 

“This builds on other measures the council already has in place to encourage people to bring empty properties back into use.” 

This is one of a number of measures in the council’s budget that are out to consultation until Monday 30 January 2023. People can have their say on the council’s budget at Budget consultation 2023/24 | Shropshire Council 

Cornwall Council and North Yorkshire County Council, both representing popular holiday destinations where housing supply is an issue for residents, are also proposing similar schemes to Shropshire’s. 

The move would help to generate an extra £2.2 million a year towards local services in Shropshire.