How to fight back against the second home tax raid

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03-05-2025

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Second home owners in over 200 local authorities hit by double council tax bills may be able to appeal the increase, it can be revealed.
Some 55 councils have seen disputes over the application of a second home council tax premium, with hundreds of successful appeals, according to data obtained via a Freedom of Information request carried out by the Taxpayers' Alliance.
The premium, which has seen some second home owners receive five-figure bills, is charged on properties that are furnished but not used as someone's main home.
Telegraph Money is calling for the premium to be abolished, and scores of our readers have told us that they feel vilified by the levy.
From April 1, over two thirds of town halls chose to use new powers, granted in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, which allowed them to impose a 100pc council tax premium on second home owners.
But the new research reveals that councils are already climbing down in some cases.
New Forest Council, which has seen the most appeals of any council, has removed 230 council tax premiums and added exceptions to 199 accounts.
North Yorkshire Council has recorded a total of 310 exceptions to the council tax premium on second homes. Of the 125 disputes in Great Yarmouth, 46 resulted in a change of charge, or 37pc.
With regard to council tax, a second home is defined as a property that is 'occupied periodically', for which 'there is no resident of the dwelling, and the dwelling is substantially furnished'. But if you use your second home frequently enough, or you do not believe that your home meets this definition, you may be able to use this to appeal a council tax premium.
A spokesman for Isle of Wight Council, which has received 350 total disputes and removed premiums on or granted exceptions to 31 homes, said: 'One likely reason for this is that the property was previously being recorded as a second home, but it is now someone's main residence.'
But the council also removed 20 premiums on properties that remained a second home, but met an eligibility criteria for an exception to the council tax premium.
The spokesman added: 'We assessed these based on the information and evidence supplied by the taxpayers to demonstrate their eligibility.'
The spokesman said this could include properties that are:
Annexes and military accommodation
Job-related dwellings
Caravan pitches/boat moorings
Undergoing probate
Being actively marketed for sale or let
Seasonal homes
If you believe that your second home meets one of these criteria, you may be eligible for an exemption from the council tax premium on your second home.
For example, there are 12-month exemptions for properties where the occupant has died, from the date of a grant of probate. Properties being actively marketed for sale or let are also exempt from the premium for one year, but this does not apply to a property for a second time until it has been sold, or let for at least six months.
The council tax premium should also not apply to seasonal homes where year-round or permanent occupation is prohibited, or that have been specified for use as holiday accommodation, or prevent occupancy as a person's sole or main residence.
'I'd imagine that most of the appeals would be because people have successfully disputed the claim that it's not their primary residence. Alternatively, they may have applied for council tax support,' said Elliot Keck of the Taxpayers' Alliance.
If you believe that your home should be exempt from the council tax premium, you can first try to appeal to your council directly – ultimately, the decision regarding exemption lies with them.
'All councils will have their own appeals process,' added Mr Keck.
You will generally need to provide your council tax number along with the address of the home you are disputing the council tax premium on. You will also need to provide evidence to support your claim.
If this fails, you'll need to complete an appeal form and submit it to the Valuation Registry, along with evidence and information supporting your case. You'll need to do this within two months of receiving a decision from your local council about a premium.
Jenny Wigley KC, of barrister firm Landmark Chambers, said: 'An appeal to the Valuation Tribunal would only really be able to challenge the calculation of council tax payable on a particular dwelling, or the question of whether that dwelling actually falls within the area or category subject to the council's determination increasing the council tax. A Valuation Tribunal appeal would not be able to challenge the council's determination of the increase itself.'
If you are facing financial hardship due to a council tax premium, you may be able to apply for a council tax reduction, also known as council tax support. Whether or not you are eligible depends on a number of factors including your income, how many children you have and if they live with you, and ultimately where you are, as your local authority will make the decision.
While councils have been given permission to raise council tax on second homes, there is a list of factors they should take into account when deciding whether it is appropriate to do so, according to the House of Commons library website. These include:
Numbers and proportion of long-term empty dwellings and/or second homes in the local area
Circumstances which may affect whether the dwelling can be used as a main residence
Potential impact on local economies and the tourism industry
Potential impact on the local community
Potential impact on local services
Other measures that are available to councils to help bring empty dwellings back into use
If you do not believe that second homes in your constituency have any meaningful negative impact on the local community and local services, or that there is not a large number of empty dwellings and second homes in your area, you may be able to use this as evidence in your appeal to the Valuation Registry.
For example, the West Midlands, the North East and the North West rank as the regions with the lowest proportions of second homes in the UK, ranging from 0.2pc to 0.5pc of all dwellings, according to Census data. Yet a number of local authorities within these regions, such as Cheshire and Durham, have taken advantage of their powers to double council tax on second homes.
Heather Powell, head of property at tax advice firm Blick Rothenberg, said: 'Your local politicians are desperate to raise money. But if there is not a surplus of empty homes in your area, or holiday homes aren't going to go to locals, they should be considering the money that second home owners bring into the area and spend, and the support they give to the leisure and hospitality industries. That can be really important for the local economy and businesses, who may suffer due to this.
'Appealing council tax premiums on second homes may become easier in the future; as the tax increase is very new for the majority of UK constituencies, there lacks a wealth of legal precedent for appealers to draw on. As the House of Commons library website states, 'legal cases that clarify when exemptions should apply may emerge in the next few years.'
One Telegraph reader, who did not wish to be named, managed to overturn a council tax premium successfully. He told Telegraph Money that by maintaining that he used his second home regularly, the local council conceded that it did not fit definitions of a second home, as stated by online guidelines.
He said: 'My wife and I are in the fortunate position of owning two houses [in two different local authorities]. We have owned these houses since June 2018 and since then have paid full council tax on both properties: both houses are owned by the two of us jointly.
'My wife lives for the bulk of the year in one house, and I live for the bulk of the year in the other. We occasionally spend time together in one of the two houses but more often than not we live separately in the two houses.
'We see our domestic arrangements as very unusual. While we undoubtedly own two properties, we do not see either of them as a 'second home'. They are both lived in and occupied by us for most of the year. Each of us contributes to our local economy.
'I think [the council was] swayed by some guidance I sent them which has been published on a number of council websites, which is pragmatic in deciding what constitutes a second home.
'While the council did declare that the house is a second home a few months ago, they have recently come round to the view that [it is actually] my main residence and that, subject to sorting out a couple of bits of paperwork, they will be removing it from their list of second homes, and normal council tax will be charged on it rather than double.'
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