Plans to double council tax on second homes and empty homes in Bath and North East Somerset have been unanimously approved by councillors — along with key changes to council tax support.

People who own a home in the area kept substantially furnished, occupied periodically, and with no-one resident for council tax purposes are liable to be hit by the 100% council tax premium when it takes effect in April 2025. There are 858 such homes in the area expected to be hit — unless their owners either sell up, rent them out, or move in permanently before then.

This would rake in an estimated £1.84m more in council tax in a year. After the sections of council tax which go to the police force, fire service, and parish councils, this would leave £1.48m as extra income for Bath and North East Somerset Council.

At a full meeting of the council on November 30, council cabinet member for resources Mark Elliott said: "The shortage of housing puts pressure on prices and means that ordinary local people are priced out of the housing market altogether. This change will encourage properties back on the market by discouraging second home ownership.

"For those who choose to own second homes still, it would mean that they make a higher contribution to vital local services at a time when those services are under severe pressure."

Councillors voted unanimously in favour of the change, although three councillors who own second homes in the council area themselves had to leave the chamber for the debate.

Seconding the motion, Bathavon South councillor Matt McCabe said: "Councils across the South West have been calling for this for years so very happy that the government has finally moved to allow us to levy this on second homes."

The power to levy the extra tax was given to councils in the the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023, which became law in October. It also allows councils to charge a 100% council tax premium on homes left empty for over a year.

Currently, empty residential properties in Bath and North East Somerset only pay the 100% council tax premium once they have been unoccupied for two years, with an even higher premium for homes empty longer than five years. At Thursday's meeting, councillors unanimously approved charging the premium once a property was empty for a year.

162 empty properties currently pay the 100% premium. Once this change comes into effect in April 2024, 340 properties which have been empty for between one and two years would need to start pay the premium. This would bring in an estimated £670,000 more in council tax, of which approximately £540,000 would go to Bath and North East Somerset Council.

Tim Warren, leader of the Conservative group on the council, said he "totally agreed" on getting empty homes back into use but asked what would be done about probate. Mr Elliott said: "They would be given special dispensation."

Councillors also unanimously agreed changes to council tax support in a move to "improve fairness" of the system, which gives a discount on council tax to the lowest income households. Mr Elliott said: "I want to be clear that this is not a cost-cutting exercise. The proposed change will not save the council money. In fact modelling shows it might slightly increase the cost of the scheme to the council."

The support scheme had previously counted the housing and childcare costs elements of universal credit as income, and offered less support as a result, instead of recognising that these payments were designed to meet specific costs and should not be used to pay council tax. Under the approved changes, the bands of support will be changed so this money is no longer counted towards income.

The unfairness in the current system was raised by Bathwick councillor Toby Simon, who volunteers with Citizens Advice. He told councillors: "If someone lived in private rented sector housing, they were getting less council tax reduction, despite having higher rents to pay than if they had been in social housing. And if they were getting the childcare element, it tended to wipe out their council tax reduction."

Mr Elliott added: "I want to be clear that there will be people adversely affected as well as those positively affected by the change, but there will be more than twice as many people positively affected — 2,600 — as those adversely affected — just under 1,300."

A public consultation was carried out on the proposals, which included writing to everyone affected by the change. People on the lowest incomes will also now receive a 100% council tax discount — meaning they do not need to pay anything at all — rather than the previous 90% discount.