North Yorkshire's Second Homes Tax to Face Scrutiny Review

A controversial 100 per cent council tax premium on second homes in North Yorkshire will face a special committee review following a petition by campaigners demanding a full impact assessment.

A 100 PER cent tax on second homes in North Yorkshire will be put under the spotlight after councillors said further evidence is needed on the policy’s impacts.

Councillors have said that a 100 per cent council tax premium policy should be scrutinised by a special committee after a petition by the campaign group SHOUT (Second Homeowners Opposed to Unfair Taxation), was debated at a recent meeting.

The petition had called on the authority to suspend the premium until a full impact assessment had been carried out and argued that the policy had been introduced without sufficient evidence of its likely impact on communities affected by large numbers of second homes.

Ahead of the meeting, council officers had recommended that members note the petition rather than support the actions requested by campaigners.

Officers also highlighted that North Yorkshire Council had allocated £20 million of income from the second homes premium to a dedicated housing fund and has previously said the charge could raise up to £12 million a year to support housing initiatives.

Presenting the petition, Lesley Waddingham, speaking on behalf of SHOUT, said the policy was not sufficiently targeted to address local housing needs because it applied equally to all second homes regardless of their type, size or suitability for permanent occupation.

The group urged the council to undertake a full review of the premium based on evidence of its actual impacts and outcomes.

At the meeting, SHOUT distributed additional documents to councillors, including a legal summary, an estate agent’s assessment of the coastal housing market, an independent report on the impact of the premium in coastal areas and a request for an internal review.

However, members expressed concern that the legal summary had only been received on the day of the meeting and had not previously been available to officers or councillors. They concluded that the document merited further examination.

During the debate, members agreed that more evidence was required about how the premium was operating in practice and whether it had achieved its stated objective of bringing properties back into primary residential use.

Councillors also raised questions about the impact on certain categories of second homes, including properties with restrictive covenants, leasehold arrangements and other circumstances where the premium may have unintended consequences.

Councillor Steve Mason requested that any future report include an impact assessment.

Councillors voted to refer the petition to the relevant scrutiny committee, together with the full legal documentation and any supporting evidence submitted by campaigners, for detailed consideration.

Following the meeting, a spokesperson for SHOUT welcomed the decision:

“Having introduced the premium through a flawed decision-making process, North Yorkshire Council now has an opportunity to review its approach and ensure that future decisions are based on the principles of fairness, transparency, and the careful consideration of individual circumstances and local economies.”

North Yorkshire Council has consistently defended the premium as a way of helping tackle housing pressures in communities with high numbers of second homes.

The authority has previously said income from the premium would be used to support housing initiatives aimed at increasing the availability of homes for local residents.

Council leader ​Cllr Carl Les previously said:

“This is one of the solutions that we have come up with to address a problem that has been around for a lot of years.

​“In some areas it’s becoming a crisis for young families who can’t afford not just to buy their own property, but even to rent their own property.

​“We know that there are communities, not just in Filey and not just on the coast, but in other parts of North Yorkshire where if you go on a Wednesday night in the middle of winter, you won’t see a light on in the majority of houses because they are not lived in, so we’re trying to address the problem.

​“And we’re the only council in England that has pledged that the money that we raise through the second homes premium — and it could be up to £12 million a year — we will spend it on housing initiatives.”