A premium of up to 300 percent for residents who own a second home was introduced in Wales (Image: Getty)
A premium of up to 300 percent for residents who own a second home was introduced by the government on April 1 2023.
The decision came after years of complaints among young people struggling to enter the housing market.
Due to the high levels of second homes in areas such as Cardiff, Gwynedd, Pembrokshire and Anglesey, many young Welsh residents were being forced out of their home areas, leading in turn to issues in these regions.
This led to a clamp down on second home ownership by the Welsh government introducing strict tax measures including a new licensing scheme for holiday lets in .
Residents with a second home in were now being faced with a premium council tax charge of 200 percent in addition to the standard council tax charge of 100 per cent.
:
Second home ownership in Wales saw many young residents leaving the region surging over tourism (Image: Getty)
For Eira Harris, 77, who co-owns a second home alongside her family, in Poppit Sands, Pembrokeshire, this has meant a 12-month council tax bill of some £4,000 for a wooden beach hut with no toilet.
As Pembrokeshire council classified this property as a second home, a 200 percent surcharge was applied including the standard rate.
Council deemed the property was “substantially furnished” therefore the family were liable for this premium charge.
Don’t miss…
The new tax rules for second home ownership in Wales has greatly impacted many residents (Image: Getty)
“We just don’t think the premium tax is relevant to us. It’s not a home, it’s a dwelling,” said Harris to the .
She continued: “A pretty shaky dwelling that has been around a very long time.”
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA) had even told the family at the start of the year that it was not “suitable for residential use of any sort” due to the “lack of bathroom or toilet facilities”.
The property was even deemed unfit to house Ukrainian refugees.
As such, the Harris family have been writing to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and PCNPA to help resolve this crippling tax bill to no avail.
“We think it’s very unfair that they don’t have the courtesy to speak to us about it,” added Mrs Harris.
A VOA spokesman said: “We cannot comment on individual cases. A property is liable for council tax if it is for domestic use and capable of being lived in.”
A Pembrokeshire council spokesman said: “It is the Valuation Office Agency’s decision to include a property on the council tax list. As there is no planning restriction on the property, the authority cannot grant the class 6 exception.
“Therefore it meets the definition contained in the Act as highlighted in the council tax list; no one is resident and it is ‘substantially furnished’.”
Pembrokeshire has the second highest number of second homes in Wales after Cardiff.
According to StatsWales, there are a total of 3,869 chargeable second homes and 1,498 chargeable empty properties in the Pembrokeshire area alone.