Introduction of Council Tax Premiums for homes that have been unoccupied and unfurnished for a period in excess of two years

Since 2013 Local Authorities have had the power to charge a 50% Council Tax Premium on properties that have been empty in excess of two years.  (Properties that fall into a different Council Tax exempt category such as a deceased persons estate, or property left empty as owner is in care are exempt from any premiums.) North Tyneside Council did not introduce these premiums.

Then in 2018 Parliament introduced the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax(Empty Dwellings) Act which allowed local authorities to charge the following premiums:

• From 1 April 2019 local authorities now have the power to charge a 100% Council Tax Premium for properties that have been unoccupied and unfurnished for more than two years.
• From 1 April 2020 local authorities will be able to charge a Council Tax Premium of 200% on properties that have been empty for 5 years or more.
• From 1 April 2021 local authorities will be able to charge a Council Tax Premium of 300% on properties that have been empty for 10 years or more.

North Tyneside Council is proposing to introduce the 100% and 200% premium on 1st April 2020 and the 300% premiumon the 1st April 2021. 

In North Tyneside we currently have 305 properties that have been empty for more than 2 years, an additional 104 properties that have been empty for more than 5 years and a further 51 properties that have been empty more than 10 years.  It is proposed that some of the income gained from introducing these premiums will be used to support existing initiatives such as the Deposit Guarantee Sceme and the Empty Homes Leasing  Scheme.

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