Overview
- Thirty‑eight local authorities will introduce a 100% premium on second homes from April, potentially affecting up to 12,300 properties not rented out or used as holiday lets.
- Hamptons analysis shows 17% of second homes in areas already charging receive exemptions, including employer‑provided housing, homes restricted by planning conditions, or properties actively marketed for sale or rent.
- The move represents a second wave after powers were granted last April, when 211 councils—about 71% of English authorities—adopted surcharges immediately.
- Councils set to apply the premium include Wiltshire, Hillingdon, South Norfolk and Stratford‑upon‑Avon, collectively covering several thousand properties.
- Forty‑seven councils say they have no plans to levy a premium, while others forecast sizable receipts—Kensington & Chelsea could raise about £12 million and Cherwell around £1.6 million—as the TaxPayers’ Alliance condemns the charges as a “crippling tax raid.”