Second home owners in Bristol will collectively pay more than £3 million extra in council tax this year after the law changed. From April Bristol City Council has permission from the government to charge people who own two or more homes a 100 per cent premium on their council tax bills.
Homes left empty longer than a year will also be charged twice the normal council tax bill. Details of the figures of affected homes were revealed in a report to a full council meeting on Tuesday, January 14.
The report said: “The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act received Royal Assent in October 2023 and gives billing authorities the power to charge a 100 per cent premium on specified second homes or empty dwellings from April 1, 2025.
“Full council has approved the proposal to charge the 100 per cent premium in respect of relevant properties with effect from April 1, 2025. This adds a further 1,334 band D equivalent dwellings to the tax base.”
This year, band D properties were charged £2,460.32 in council tax. There are an estimated 1,334 band D equivalent homes in Bristol, which will be subject to the new premium charges. That would mean the council gaining an extra £3.3 million next year, before any council tax increases are factored in.
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Some exemptions will be made, such as homes left empty by people living in armed forces accommodation, or if somebody living there has died. The changes are part of a wider push to tackle Bristol’s housing crisis and reduce the staggering number of empty homes in the city.
Council tax is likely to increase by five per cent from April, although no decision has been made yet. Last year, the council consulted the public on increasing council tax by a whopping 15 per cent, although this would be unlikely to actually happen unless the law changed.