Walsall Council has approved a recommendation to quadruple the council tax on empty homes.
The changes will mean that from the 1st April 2019, a home unoccupied for more than two years could pay double. By April 2020, this increases to triple for those unoccupied for more than five years and by 2021, this quadruples for those over ten years.
The changes mean that an extra 270 homes could be placed back on the market across the borough has owners attempt to avoid paying extra.
Cllr Adam Hicken who represents Willenhall North said “At last we finally have some decent powers to go after the owners of empty homes, many of which could be placed back into use within months.
“We have families who desperately need homes being forced to live in cramped caravans over the winter period, so I welcome any extra pressure we can place to make every home available in our borough”.
The increases would bring in an extra £168,000 by 2020 for the authority, increasing to £331,500 in 2021 and £416,000 by 2022.
Link to report:
Cabinet – 12 December 2018
Council Tax Premium on Long Term Empty Properties
