Decision details

Cabinet received a report on the outcome of the consultation undertaken, as approved by Cabinet on 14 October 2019, regarding options to consider for the potential to introduce a Council Tax Empty Homes Premium from 1 April 2020.

The National Landlords Association had responded by stating that as many councils had already implemented this strategy, they could not object to a policy which was reasonable. If the person was not making efforts to get the property back into use, they were not acting as a responsible landlord, a two-year window was reasonable.

One caveat would be if the landlord had done all in their power to provide a property which was fit for letting and the property remained empty due to environmental factors i.e. the property was in an area suffering from criminal activity or anti-social behaviour and therefore there was no demand for property from any suitable tenants then perhaps the Authority could work with the landlord to find a solution, and take these factors into account regarding Council Tax.

The environmental issue raised by the National Landlords Association had also been highlighted by a local landlord who had asked that the government guidance on this issue was expressly noted in any Council decision in relation to the empty home premium. The guidance stated that any owner of a property that had been empty in excess of two years who could demonstrate that the property was actively being marketed for sale or for rent at a reasonable level meant that their property could be exempted from the Council Tax empty home premium. 

From the Community and Voluntary Sector the Director of North Tyneside Citizens Advice had commented that they agreed with the proposals to introduce Council Tax premiums and the objective of minimising empty properties.

The question posed in the on-line consultation engagement portal was: ‘Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the proposal to introduce Council Tax premiums in order to discourage owners from leaving properties empty for long periods, in excess of two years’. 

33 responses (67%) agreed with the proposal to introduce Council Tax premiums; zero responses (0%) neither agreed or disagreed with the proposal; and 16 responses (33%) disagreed with the proposal to introduce Council Tax premiums.

Cabinet considered the following decision options:

Option 1 - Based on the outcome of the consultation, to make a recommendation to Council at its meeting on 20 January 2020, to determine that the Council Tax empty homes premium set out below will apply across the Borough.

a) From 1 April 2020 charge a 100% Council Tax premium for properties that have been   empty for more than two years;

b) From 1 April 2020 charge a 200% premium on those properties which have been empty for five years or more;

c) From 1 April 2021 charge a 300% premium on those properties which have been empty for ten years or more.

In line with Government recommendation agree that owners of properties that could demonstrate that the property was actively being marketed for sale or rent at a reasonable level were exempt from the premium on that property.  

Option 2 - reject Option 1 and ask that the Service consider an alternative approach.

Resolved that (1) the responses to the consultation exercise be noted; and

(2) Full Council be invited to determine that, with effect from 1 April 2020 and 1 April 2021, the Council Tax empty homes premiums as set out in Option 1 of paragraph 1.6 of the report will apply across the Borough.

(Reason for decision:  Consultation responses from the National Landlords Association and the Community and Voluntary Sector are in favour of the introduction of Council Tax premiums. The request to ensure Government guidelines are followed to protect owners who are doing everything in their power and actively trying to sell or let the property is noted and proposed as part of the recommendation.

The potential to incentivise owners of long-term empty properties to bring them back into use should prove positive for those groups more likely to experience housing issues such as younger people, single men and women and single parent families. This proposal may lead to positive impacts in relation to the Authority’s approach to housing and homelessness.)