Thousands of London homeowners face double council tax for first time from April
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Thousands of London homeowners will face their council tax bills doubling from April under new rules. Struggling boroughs are set to increase payments for some residents and property owners in a bid to bring in more cash and help ease the housing crisis.
Wandsworth council said that for the first time the owners of homes that have been unoccupied and unfurnished for more than one year, rather than two years, will see their bills double. From April 1, properties that are considered second homes will also be charged twice the current council tax rate under the plan.
This means that with the predicted 5% increase a standard Band D Wandsworth second home will pay around £1,500 a year, including the City Hall “precept” which Mayor Sadiq Khan uses to fund the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade. The same rules will be in place in Westminster from April 1.
If a resident is living in a second home because of the terms of their job, for example they are a caretaker or a member of the armed services, the charges will not apply. However, residents who are living in a second central London property because it is “convenient” for their place of work will have to pay the extra charges.
The moves follow Hackney town hall, which signed off plans to double council tax premiums for the owners of empty properties and second homes from last April. Westminster council also applies a premium of 200 per cent on homes that have not been lived in for more than five years and 300 per cent on homes empty for a decade.
