Second Home Premiums (From 1 April 2025)

From 1 April 2025, there will be an introduction of premiums for those properties registered as a second home. 

The definition of a second home for Council Tax purposes is a dwelling which has "no one resident" but is "substantially furnished". 

Section 80 (2) of the Act inserts a new section 11C into the Local Government Finance Act 1992. This permits the Council to apply a premium on second homes. The maximum Council Tax charge in these cases would be a standard 100% charge plus a premium of 100% making a total Council Tax charge of 200%.

Unlike empty dwellings, there is no requirement for a property to have been used as a second home for a fixed period of time before the premium can apply. 

The Act provides that a dwelling cannot be subject to both a second homes premium and an empty homes premium imposed under section 11B of the 1992 Act, and that an existing empty homes premium would cease to apply to a property which has become subject to a second homes premium. 

Please view the premium policy [pdf] 235KB for further details. 

There are exceptions available to those that have been subjected to a premium charges, details of this can be found on our exceptions to premium charges page.