To submit the report of the Cabinet Member for Finance (attached).
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Ioan
Thomas, presented a report asking the Council for formal confirmation for
2020/21, of the previous decisions not to give discounts to second homes and
not to give discounts on empty properties, and to raise a premium of 50% on such
relevant properties.
During the discussion, the following observations were submitted by
individual members:
·
That a gap in the
legislation meant that the owner of an empty property could state that the
property was for sale in order to avoid paying the premium.
·
That people were suffering, because it could take a
year or longer to restore an old house, and it was asked whether the Council
had looked into each case and allowed exceptions in special circumstances. To
this end, an amendment was proposed and seconded to add a clause to the
recommendation in the report, namely to request that the Cabinet looked at
flexibility to consider a policy for a financial discount or aid for the owners
of empty properties when the work of restoring them took longer than six
months. As the Cabinet Member agreed to accept the amendment, he changed his
proposal to this end, and the Council, without any discussion, showed its
satisfaction with this tail to the proposal.
·
That there was a need for a
system that rewarded, and not penalised, landlords who invested in their
properties.
·
That there were three companies in Abersoch that
advised people to convert houses into AirBnbs, without any type of planning
control, and that the transfer of those houses from the Council Tax list to the
Non-domestic Rates register meant that the Council was losing more money.
·
That the members should
receive updates on the number of houses that transferred to the Non-domestic
Rates register.
In response to some of the above observations, and to questions asked, it
was noted:
·
That the regulations stated
that an empty property that was for sale for a reasonable price was exempt from
paying the premium for a year from the date it was placed on the market.
·
That individual
circumstances, where substantial work was required on a house, could be dealt
with through another part of the legislation, and the Cabinet could look at
suitable policies, in accordance with what was proposed as an amendment.
·
That members and officers
were still corresponding regularly with Welsh Government ministers and officers
to press for change in the system which allowed properties used as
self-serviced holiday units to be taxed through the Non-domiciliary Tax system,
rather than the Council Tax system. There were many complexities with the
planning system and the Council Tax system; however, with the support of the
Welsh Local Government Association, the councils were attempting to negotiate a
way forward. Therefore, it was suggested
that the members let the officers continue to follow this route for the time
being, and in due course to report back on the progress with the work.
·
Although the Council was
losing money with each house that transferred to the Non-domestic Rates
register, the premium for the houses that were still under Council Tax
generated approximately £2.5m income per year for the Council, and the
intention was to ultimately invest this funding in housing for local
people. The current system was that
people who were able to afford to pay for holiday homes were paying slightly
more so that the Council could compensate for the fact that so many houses in
Gwynedd were being converted into holiday homes. The income generated from the
premium would not close the gap entirely, of course, but the whole idea was that
the Council could use the premium to do something about the housing situation.
The Head of Housing and Property Department was already in the process of
drawing up a strategy to start addressing the problem, and a two-year resource
had been harvested by the Council. A
further report on this could be presented to the Audit and Governance Committee
should members wish to receive more information.
RESOLVED
(a) RESOLVED
that the Council makes no changes to the scheme for
2020/21. That is, for 2020/21:
·
That Gwynedd
Council allows NO discount on class A second homes in accordance with Section
12 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
·
That Gwynedd
Council allows NO discount and RAISES A PREMIUM OF 50% on class B second homes
in accordance with Section 12B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
·
That Gwynedd
Council allows NO discount on homes that have been empty for 6 months or more
and RAISES A PREMIUM OF 50% on homes that have been empty for 12 months or more
in accordance with Section 12A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
(b) To request that the Cabinet looked at flexibility to consider a
policy for a financial discount or aid for the owners of empty properties when
the work of restoring them took longer than six months.
Supporting documents: