Week 9 - Second Home Tax

Empty second homes have blighted many of our communities in the South West. It has been a crisis that has been allowed to spiral out of control over the years.

The demand for second homes, often from wealthier buyers or investors from outside the region, has driven up house prices in popular areas like here in Devon. This makes it difficult for local residents, especially young people, to afford homes in their own communities.  

Second-home buyers tend to compete for the same properties that locals need. In areas where housing supply is already limited, this exacerbates the housing shortage for full-time residents. When these houses are empty for much of the time it can hollow out a whole community.

We have seen the local housing shortage get worse since the start of the cost-of-living crisis.  In Teignbridge the Housing Needs Register has gone up by 50% to around 1,500 households needing a more suitable home, or indeed anywhere to call home.  

The increase in both second homes, and homes being turned into holiday lets has played a large part in this.  I have been receiving too many emails from households facing section 21 eviction notices.  And that was before the current moves to ban them. 

I welcomed the decision to allow local authorities to be able to double council tax on these properties. It doesn’t go far enough to solve the issues in our area, but it could have provided a key revenue stream for local councils to invest in affordable housing for local people.

Teignbridge District Council has started building modern council homes, and the decision to have the best standards for insulation and in-built green energy supply has meant that not only are these homes affordable to rent, but they are also affordable to heat too.  With more funding they can do a lot more…

But it appears that the Conservatives at Devon County Council are going to be keeping most of the revenue to plug funding shortfalls in their own budget.  Sadly, it will make little difference in the scale of their problems.

Second-home ownership here often highlights the wealth disparity between affluent property buyers and local residents who may struggle to find housing. By redirecting tax revenue to affordable housing, local authorities can help level the playing field, offering local residents more opportunities to own or rent homes in their community.

Devon County Council must use these extra revenues to help ease the housing crisis in Devon.

The number of available homes is limited in most of our communities across Devon.  This is often further reduced by second-home purchases. By investing in affordable housing, local authorities can increase the supply of homes specifically for those who live and work in the community year-round.

Although we cannot yet determine the exact amount of additional revenue this tax will generate, we must remain steadfast in our ambition and commitment to take action, for the benefit of all those in our communities who are struggling due to Devon’s crisis of affordable homes.