geteilt von: https://sh.itjust.works/post/38301389
To try to tackle this, the Welsh Labour government, alongside Plaid Cymru, introduced measures to curb second-home ownership. This included giving councils the ability to push council tax on second homes to 300% the usual rate. They also closed a loophole whereby second-home owners could register as a business in order to pay the much lower business rates.
Gwynedd council used these powers to hike council tax to 150% in April 2023. By the end of 2024, house prices had fallen by 12.4% as second-home owners tried to sell up. In Pembrokeshire, house prices fell by 8.9% after the council increased the council tax to 200% on second homes (though this was reduced to 150% recently).
I’ve been saying that for a while that secondary residences should lose all tax benefits and should also have additional tax penalties applied to them as long as there is a housing crisis.
Like a second house should cost you double, and if you get a third, then the second and third should cost you triple, and so on and so forth, so that having multiple homes would be a sign of wealth and not an investment practice.
You roll that out with a gradual phase in and you would solve the housing crisis in like 7 to 10 years.
The penalties should be higher for short term rental properties-if it’s listed on Airbnb or VRBO or similar, taxes double.
This should be tied to the multiple properties IMO. With home prices today you may have to AirBNB out the house and live in a shed in the yard for a few years just to afford the mortgage.
Agree, and I missed the fact that I didn’t make that clear. If Airbnb stayed what their initial marketing portrayed them to be (connecting people who had a spare room or mother-in-law suite that was unoccupied with people who wanted a more genuine local experience,) I’d have no problem with them.