SECOND homes and empty properties council tax premiums are recommended to remain at their current levels, with a warning a drop could lead to rise in everyone’s council tax.
Late last year, Pembrokeshire councillors voted to drop the council tax premium on second homes from 200 per cent, effectively a treble rate, to 150 per cent.
Prior to that, second-home owners in the county were charged a 100 per cent premium.
Under Welsh Government legislation, local authorities are able to increase the council premium on second homes to as much as 300 per cent, effectively a quadruple rate.
A council tax premium is applied to the main council tax bill, the precepts from the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner and the town and community council elements of the overall bill.
The percentage of homes with no usual resident in Pembrokeshire, made up of holiday lets, empty homes and second homes, is 13.8 per cent, down from a high of 14.6 per cent, a report for members of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet meeting of October 6 said.
Four communities in the county, Dale, Lamphey, Newport, and The Havens, have a percentage in excess of 40 per cent and a further 14 have a rate of 25 per cent or higher, the report added.
A consultation on potential changes to the rates for second homes and empty properties in the county was held this summer, with 2,375 responses, some 44 per cent of those answering saying there should be no second homes premium, and 24 per cent and 18 per cent respectively favouring a 50 per cent or 100 per cent premium rather than the current 150.
Cabinet members were, amongst other recommendations to be heard at this week’s meeting of full council, asked to back the second homes premium remaining at 150 per cent and the long-term empty properties rate remaining at 300 per cent.
Speaking at the meeting, Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance Efficiencies Cllr Alistair Cameron said a drop in the second homes premium to 100 per cent, as recommended by the Council Tax Working Group would result in a budget pressure of £2.6m for 2026-27, equivalent to a three per cent hike in general council tax levels.
Lamphey councillor, and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Cllr Tessa Hodgson questioned the high percentage figures for her own ward, suggesting they could be skewed by the number of residents at a chalet holiday park.
“I’ve never been a fan of this additional tax on second home-owners,” she said, adding the “image of people turning up in Range Rovers bringing bags of Waitrose shopping” into the county was actually more likely to be people who inherit a property or share such a property around the family as a way of having cheap holidays in the area, or being used for holiday lets.
She said she favoured a 100 per cent rate, or even abolishing it, with fellow Cabinet member Cllr Jacob Williams also declaring his opposition, saying he had been against it from the start.
He suggested second home-owners pay a ‘premium’ even on the basic rate as they “don’t hog resources,” by using less services.
Members backed the recommendations, the matter now coming before full council, meeting on October 9, with identical recommendations.
