A renewed bid is to be made for a doubling of council tax on second homes in east Suffolk as local authorities across the country pledged to implement the rise.
East Suffolk councillor David Beavan, who represents Southwold, said he would be resubmitting a motion to the council at the start of next year after an original motion to introduce the 100% rate rise was rejected by the council in July.
However, under council rules, a renewed motion cannot be submitted for six months, meaning the second appeal can be made from January 27, 2023.
The Yorkshire towns Whitby and Scarborough are set to be the first in the country to double the council tax on second homes after the Government announced local authorities will have the power to levy the extra bills from April 2024, with the new rules coming in from April 2023.
Mr Beavan said he wanted the money raised through the doubling of rates to be ring-fenced to pay for affordable housing in areas where there were housing shortages.
If East Suffolk Council was to impose such a tariff, its share of the extra tax could generate £700,000 - enough to build three new affordable homes a year.
In Southwold, only two out of five homes are occupied full-time, while neighbouring Aldeburgh also has a high volume of second homes.
Mr Beavan said locals could not afford properties with average salaries of £30,000 being insufficient when average property prices were £500,000.
However, he added the number of holiday lets was an even bigger problem than second homes because the owners paid business rates rather than council tax.
He said: “The planning system is the only way we can control the holiday lets and that is what we want to do by making sure that at least half the houses are occupied by people that live in them.”
Maurice Cook, East Suffolk’s cabinet member for resources, said he would be supporting the implementation of the new policy, adding that many businesses in coastal communities struggled to survive due to declining populations as the number of second homes has increased.
“I would certainly recommend that we implement this Government policy when the new rules are introduced in April 2023.
“These new measures, together with the removal of the loophole in April 2023 which allows second homeowners to register their properties as businesses and thus avoid paying business rates or council tax, will increase the council tax base and thus the income, of all our affected towns and parishes.
“If second homeowners decide to sell their properties rather than pay the additional council tax, this will release properties into the market which will help address the local demand,” he said.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here