East Renfrewshire Council’s cabinet has agreed to scrap a 10% council tax discount on empty and second homes and to roll out a premium of up to 100% from April next year.
The decision was made on the same day the Scottish Government passed legislation which brings second homes in line with long-term empty homes from April 1, allowing council tax to be doubled.
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The council hopes the move will bring properties back into use, after officials reported “extreme pressures” on housing services. Waiting lists have more than doubled in three years.
An empty homes officer will also be recruited by the council and will support owners who want to reuse their property.
Council leader Owen O’Donnell, Labour, said he was “really encouraged” by the planned appointment, which would “try to bring long-term voids and empty properties back into occupation”.
He added: “We all know the homelessness issue we have got and the fewer void properties there are, the better for everyone.”
Figures revealed there are 124 long-term empty homes in East Renfrewshire, with 77 vacant for over 12 months, and 64 second homes.
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Long-term empty homes are properties which have been vacant for more than six months and are liable for council tax. Double the full rate can be applied to homes empty for over 12 months.
Second homes are properties that are furnished and lived in for at least 25 days in a 12-month period but aren’t a main residence. Council tax discount on second homes in East Renfrewshire was cut from 50% to 10% in 2009/10.
However, the 10% discount for both long-term empty properties and second homes had remained in place. East Renfrewshire has been “only one of a small number” of councils to provide a discount for long-term empty homes, a council report stated.
It added a 100% premium would “provide support to bring long-term empty homes back into use”. The council is under pressure due to a “critical lack of capacity in local housing markets”, the report stated, with the total number of people on the waiting list now at 6,175.
Empty homes have also attracted a range of anti-social behaviour issues, including vandalism, arson, fly-tipping, according to officials. Housing services have responded to 87 complaints over the past eight years.
During consultation, empty and second home owners did not welcome paying extra council tax but 18 of 57 respondents indicated they would benefit from an advice service, which will be provided by the empty homes officer.
