Council Tax Premium in Bath and North East Somerset: Second Homes and Empty Properties

For Bath and North East Somerset you are looking at double council tax on second homes from 1 April 2025, and 200-400% total on long-term empties depending how long they have been empty.

Second homes - premium, definition, timing

Definition: For council tax, a second home is "a furnished property for personal use but not your main residence, or simply unoccupied but furnished".

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 gives BANES the power to levy a premium on these "dwellings occupied periodically".

Premium:

• Full council on 30 November 2023 agreed to introduce a 100% premium on second homes.
• From 1 April 2025 you pay an additional 100% premium, so 200% total council tax on each qualifying second home.

ITV and local press report:

• Around 858 homes in the area are expected to be hit, unless they are sold, rented or occupied full-time before then.
• The council estimates the 100% second-home premium will raise about GBP 1.84 million a year in extra council tax, of which around GBP 1.48 million will go to BANES after other preceptors' shares.

From April 2025, if your BANES property is furnished and not genuinely your main residence, expect your council tax bill to double.

Long-term empty properties - current premium bands

Bath and North East Somerset is already using the full stepped structure on empties.

From the council's unoccupied-properties / "No Use Empty" content:

Applies to properties that are unoccupied and unfurnished.

The key points the council emphasises:

• The 200% charge kicks in from the first anniversary of the property becoming empty; the 300% from the fifth anniversary; the 400% from the tenth.
• These charges apply regardless of any change in ownership. If you buy a long-term empty, you inherit the premium from day one until you bring it back into use.

Local coverage backs this up and frames it as an incentive to bring about 340 additional homes back into use once the 1-year trigger replaced the old 2-year rule.

Exceptions, exemptions and framework

BANES is in England, so it uses the English framework, not the Welsh 300% powers. That means:

• The second-home premium is capped at 100% by the Act (so 200% total), and it must give 12 months' notice, which is why the start date is April 2025.
• Long-term empty premiums follow sections 11B LGFA 1992 as amended, which allow the stepped 100% / 200% / 300% premiums BANES is using from April 2024.

On exceptions:

• Standard national council-tax exemptions (for example probate Class F, some care-related or student exemptions) still apply; if the property is fully exempt you do not pay the underlying council tax or the premium.
• From 1 April 2025, BANES flags "several new exceptions to Council Tax premiums for long-term empty properties" on its unoccupied-properties page, aligning with the updated government guidance. These cover cases such as recently exempt probate properties, some job-related dwellings, and armed-forces cases.

You still pay the normal bill, but the premium can be switched off temporarily in narrow statutory circumstances like probate, job-related homes or armed-forces accommodation.

Appeals and challenge route

BANES follows the standard England pattern:

1. Contact the council tax team if you think your property is wrongly classed as a second home or long-term empty, or if you qualify for one of the exceptions; the unoccupied-properties and empty-homes policy both stress your duty to tell the council when the status changes.
2. Evidence the council will want: tenancy agreements, sales or letting marketing, utility bills, GP or electoral registration, probate documents, or employment / forces paperwork depending on the angle.
3. If, after a written decision, you still disagree, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England.

Challenge it in writing with evidence. If they refuse to change it, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

Contact details and empty-home team

Empty homes work is branded as "No Use Empty"; the policy confirms that council tax sends quarterly lists of properties empty six months+, and the empty-homes team writes to owners warning about premiums and offering advice, loans and grants to bring them back into use.

Contact routes are via the main BANES Council tax and No Use Empty pages (phone, email and online forms are listed there).

If your BANES property is currently empty or a second home and you want to avoid the premium, speak to the council's No Use Empty / council tax team early. They can offer grants or loans as well as explaining how and when the premiums will hit.

Numbers and revenue

• Around 858 second homes in the area expected to be hit by the premium.
• The council estimates the 100% second-home premium will raise about GBP 1.84 million a year in extra council tax, of which around GBP 1.48 million will go to BANES after other preceptors' shares.

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