Agenda item

Report attached.

CouncillorsLoraine Cox, Paul Cox, Zak Khan and Mohammed Younis, having previously declared a dislcosabe pecuniary interest in this matter, left the meeting for the duration of the item and did not speak or vote upon the matter.

Members considered a report ofCouncillor Vanessa Alexander, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Council Operations,seeking to further the Council’s strategy to improve its housing stock and the regeneration of Hyndburn by adopting new Government provisions for exceptions to premium rates of Council Tax for properties that were left vacant for over one year and by adopting new provisions on premium rates of Council Tax for properties classed as second homes.

Councillor Alexander provided a summary of the main points within the report, including a brief description of the categories of exemptions from premium rates of Council Tax.

Since 2013, councils in England had been granted the power to charge additional Council Tax on long-term empty homes.  For the purpose of Council Tax, long-term empty homes were dwellings which had been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for a period of at least 1 year.  In April 2024, the empty homes Council Tax premium had been strengthened so that councils could charge the premium on homes that had been empty for 1 or more years.

The Council had welcomed and acted upon the Government’s initial introduction of a premium on Council Tax in 2013 for long term empty properties as a means of encouraging their occupation together with the incremental changes in Council Tax premiums effective from April 2019, and, also from April 2024.  While the initial Government legislation that took effect in 2013, and subsequent legislation in 2019 had helped reduce the number of empty properties, there were still over 700 empty properties that remained in Hyndburn that caused damage to the housing market and neighbourhoods.

Since 2013, the number of properties in the Borough classified as empty and unfurnished for Council Tax purposes on 1^st April each year had reduced as outlined in Table 1 below.  It should be noted that these figures represented those dwellings subject to former Class C empty and unfurnished discounts, not all empty dwellings in the Borough.  Other empty properties included those undergoing major repairs and those subject to other exemptions.

Table 1 – Council Tax Empty Properties from 2012/2013 to 2024/2025

The measures introduced to incentivise re-occupation or sale of empty property had been combined with other regeneration efforts, the work of the Council’s empty properties officer and work to survey and monitor empty properties each year since 2013.

Overall, the implementation of the Council Tax premium on empty properties could be said to have had a positive impact on the number of empty dwellings in the Borough, had supported the authority’s regeneration efforts and had helped to increase the Council’s New Homes Bonus allocations.

New Legislation

The Government recognised that there could be instances where it might be inappropriate for the Council Tax premiums to apply.  Section 11B and 11D of the 1992 Act enabled the Government to make regulations to prescribe classes of dwellings in relation to which councils might not make a determination to apply a premium.

From April 2025, the Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings and Consequential Amendments) (England) Regulations 2024 amended section 11B and 11D of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and prescribed the classes of dwelling which might not be made subject to a Council Tax premium.

The new legislation provided the exceptions to Council Tax premiums as shown in Table 2, with further detail provided in the Council Tax Empty Property Liability Policy.  These exceptions only excluded the relevant dwellings from premiums and did not affect the standard rate of Council Tax they might be liable for:

Table 2 - Exceptions to Council Tax Premium from April 2025

Table 3 – Second Home Charges from April 2025

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 inserted section 11C of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and granted authorities the discretion to apply higher amounts for properties that were occupied periodically (Second Homes).

Table 4 – Second Home Charges from April 2026

Currently there were 20 properties which were classed as second homes, and if they were classed as such at April 2026 they would be subject to a 200% Council Tax liability in 2026 if those measures were introduced.

In relation to the changes for second homes, a billing authority would have to allow at least one year before the beginning of the financial year to which it related.  As such the first financial year for which the premium could be applied to property classed as a second home was from 1^st April 2026.

Implementation

Should these measures be implemented, the Council should publish its intentions in at least one local newspaper at least 21 days prior to implementation.

In addition, it was the service’s intention to write to all owners of empty properties and second homes to inform them of the increased premiums and the timescale for implementation, allowing them the opportunity to sell or occupy any empty properties they might have prior to any further premiums being applied.

The Council would review the administration of this policy in accordance with any guidance, as issued, by the Secretary of State.

Councillor Joyce Plummer asked whether new legislation about premiums had been introduced in 2024.  She commented that the introduction of premiums in the past had not been without its problems.  Councillor Alexander responded that a premium had been agreed in 2024 for implementation during 2025.  The current changes, if agreed before 1^st April 2025, could then be introduced in April 2026.

Resolved                                    -    That the revised Council Tax Empty Property Liability Policy attached to the report is approved and the exceptions to Council Tax premiums, and, premium for property classed as a second home, are revised as set out in Paragraphs 3.6 to 3.10 of the report in accordance with the provisions in:

·           The Local Government Finance Act 1992,

·           The Local Government Finance Act 2012,

·           The Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwelling) Act 2018,

·           The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023,

·           The Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings and Consequential Amendments) (England) Regulations 2024