A tax cut could be coming for some second home owners – and it’s in Reform’s hands

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1. Second homeowners in areas controlled by [Reform UK](https://inews.co.uk/topic/reform-uk-party?ico=in-line_link)-run councils could receive a tax cut after a newly implemented Tory-era policy was labelled “madness” by Nigel Farage.

   The party – which has surged into a double-digit lead over Labour [in recent polls](https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/reform-record-10-point-lead-over-labour-farage-3685725?ico=in-line_link) – enjoyed [plenty of success in last week’s local elections](https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/what-reform-could-do-next-from-a-war-on-woke-to-targeting-asylum-hotels-3675404?ico=in-line_link), returning 600 new councillors and taking control of 10 authorities.

   It means that in some of these authorities, Reform has the power to potentially reverse a 100 per cent council tax premium on [second home owners](https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/property-and-mortgages/all-ways-impossible-own-two-homes-3602042?ico=in-line_link) introduced last month under a measure from the previous Conservative government to ease housing pressures.

   Farage, the party’s leader, has repeatedly spoken out against the double tax policy, calling it “extortion” on the part of local authorities.

   Once Reform’s new council leaders have been chosen, he is expected to meet with them to lay out the party’s official position on the matter.

   # What is the second homes council tax premium?

   The second homes [council tax](https://inews.co.uk/topic/council-tax?ico=in-line_link) premium is a levy introduced by the Tories under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.

   Implemented starting 1 April this year, it gives all local authorities in England the option to [charge double council tax on second homes](https://inews.co.uk/opinion/second-homes-are-a-privilege-not-a-right-their-council-tax-should-be-doubled-3670583?ico=in-line_link) that are furnished but not used as the owner’s main place of residence.

   It was brought in by more than 200 town halls across the country, after a similar policy began in Scotland last year. In Wales, councils have held the power to charge a 300 per cent premium for [second home](https://inews.co.uk/topic/second-homes?ico=in-line_link) owners since 2023.

   The measures in England were introduced by then-housing secretary [Michael Gove](https://inews.co.uk/topic/michael-gove?ico=in-line_link) in a bid to “bring life back” to seaside towns where second home owners had caused house prices to spike above affordable levels for locals.

   But critics of the policy have warned that some cash-strapped councils could be using it to boost funds for unrelated projects.

   *The Telegraph*, which is campaigning to scrap or cut the premium, has [reported](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/second-homes/farage-pressures-reform-councils-scrap-second-homes-tax-rai/) that as little as 9p in every £1 the policy generates is being spent on affordable housing, as well as that dozens of authorities are [engaged in expensive disputes](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/second-homes/labour-refuses-investigate-damage-caused-second-homes-tax/) with second home owners who are appealing bills in some cases totalling around the £10,000 mark.

2. Good to see Reform prioritising the working class

3. Ah Reform, clearly the party of the working class

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