Agenda item

Report No: EXC/SA/18/004

Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Members: Stephen Edwards and Ian Houlder      

Lead Officer: Rachael Mann

RECOMMENDED TO SHADOW COUNCIL (17 July 2018)

That:-

1.           The West Suffolk Council Tax Technical Changes – Second Homes set out in Section 1.4 of Report No: EXC/SA/18/004, from 1 April 2019, be approved.

2.           The West Suffolk Council Tax Technical Changes – Empty Property Reliefs as set out in Section 1.4 of Report No: EXC/SA/18/004, from 1 April 2019, be approved.

3.           Subject to the coming into force of legislation accordingly on 1 April 2019, an additional 50% Council Tax premium on long term properties raising the current premium to 200% as set out in Section 1.4 of Report No: EXC/SA/18/004, be approved.

(Report No: EXC/SA/18/004)

The Council’s Monitoring Officer explained that this report would be addressing the issue of empty property relief.  Therefore consideration would need to be given to the declaring of interests where Councillors were also landlords.  The Monitoring Officer explained the principle that Councillors should not take part in a decision at a council meeting assessing a matter related to the general private sector housing market, where, at the time the decision was made, they would financially gain or lose as a landlord as a result of the decision.  Where Councillors considered that this applied to them, they should declare a local non-pecuniary interest.

The Monitoring Officer also explained that the Councils’ Standards Committee would be considering, at their meeting on 16 July 2018, the awarding of dispensations which would then allow a Councillor to take part in discussion/voting where they had a disclosable pecuniary interest in this issue.

Councillor James Waters then declared a local non-pecuniary interest as a landlord in the private sector housing market and remained in the meeting, but did not participate in the discussion or voting thereon.

The Shadow Executive (Cabinet) considered this report which explained that since April 2013, Councils have had the discretion to charge up to 100% for some previously exempt properties; to charge up to 100% in respect of furnished empty properties (holiday homes); to charge up to100% in respect of second homes and to charge up to 50% empty homes premium for properties that had been empty for over two years.  In offering these new powers, the Government were seeking to influence owners to bring empty homes back into use, as well as the ability for councils to increase council tax income.

As part of the 2017 Government budget, it was announced that the Government would be implementing new flexibilities in respect of charging an additional 50% Council Tax on long term empty property premiums.  It was anticipated that this would come into effect on 1 April 2019 and these powers would provide local authorities with the ability to implement a scheme that would enable 200% Council Tax charge on properties that had been empty for longer than two years (deemed as a long term empty property).

Paragraph 1.4 of the report set out the differences between the current schemes and the approach proposed for the West Suffolk Council.  As the second homes element was already aligned, it had been proposed that this continued into the West Suffolk Council.

Therefore, it was

RECOMMENDED TO SHADOW COUNCIL: (17 July 2018)

That:-

1.           The West Suffolk Council Tax Technical Changes – Second Homes set out in Section 1.4 of Report No: EXC/SA/18/004, from 1 April 2019, be approved.

2.           The West Suffolk Council Tax Technical Changes – Empty Property Reliefs as set out in Section 1.4 of Report No: EXC/SA/18/004, from 1 April 2019, be approved.

3.           Subject to the coming into force of legislation accordingly on 1 April 2019, an additional 50% Council Tax premium on long term properties raising the current premium to 200% as set out in Section 1.4 of Report No: EXC/SA/18/004, be approved.