Council Tax Premium in Cornwall: Second Homes and Empty Properties
Written by Scott Jones, founder of PropertyKiln · Last updated
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Cornwall is now full-fat on premiums: double council tax on second homes from April 2025, and up to 400% total on long-term empties by duration.
Second homes - current premium
From 1 April 2025, Cornwall charges an extra 100% premium on second homes, so you pay 200% council tax. Cornwall Council confirms on its second homes page (updated April 2026) that this continues to apply in 2026.
How Cornwall defines a "second home" vs main residence
Cornwall's own wording:
- Second home: "furnished properties that you own or rent but are not used as your main home".
- Sole / main residence: the property where you normally live, keep your belongings, are registered with your GP etc. Cornwall applies the standard "sole or main residence" test from national council tax guidance even though it is not spelled out line-by-line on the second-homes page.
If the property is furnished but not genuinely lived in as somebody's main home, Cornwall will treat it as a second home and charge double council tax unless it qualifies as a business-rated holiday let.
Interaction with holiday lets / business rates
A second home does not pay the premium if it meets government rules for self-catering holiday accommodation and is moved onto business rates by the Valuation Office Agency. A property that fails the letting / availability tests stays in council tax and is hit by the second-home premium instead.
Empty property premiums - current bands
Cornwall uses the new England powers for stepped premiums based on how long the place has been empty and unfurnished.
Cornwall Council's empty and unfurnished homes page gives the current structure:
| Duration empty and unfurnished | Premium | Total council tax |
|---|---|---|
| 0-12 months | No premium | 100% (standard) |
| 12+ months (from 1 April 2024) | +100% premium | 200% total |
| 5+ years (from 1 April 2020) | +200% premium | 300% total |
| 10+ years (from 1 April 2021) | +300% premium | 400% total |
The council spells out that the premium is tied to the property, not the owner: if you buy a place that has already been empty over these thresholds, you inherit the premium from day one.
Exemptions and exceptions
Empty-home premium exceptions
Cornwall lists specific cases where the empty-home premium does not apply even if the place is empty over 12 months:
- Annexe exemption: If the empty property is an annexe to another dwelling, the premium does not apply (standard national rule).
- Armed forces: If you are in the armed forces and required to live in armed forces accommodation, your home back in Cornwall is not hit with the empty-home premium.
- From 1 April 2025, Cornwall applies the national 12-month exception categories set out in sections 11B and 11D LGFA 1992 and the October 2024 government guidance: probate cases, job-related dwellings, and inherited homes being prepared for sale can get a temporary 12-month exception from premium even if technically long-term empty.
Second-home premium exceptions
Cornwall's second-homes page does not list every individual exception, but says the council is operating the discretionary premium within the national framework.
Using that framework and Cornwall's own policy PDF (Empty Homes and Second Homes Premiums Policy 2026):
- Armed forces second homes: No second-home premium where the property is only a second home because the owner has to live in MoD accommodation.
- Job-related second homes: No premium where the second home is required for employment (for example, vicarages, tied cottages, or properties required by terms of employment).
- Certain annexes and properties occupied by seasonal or migrant workers may be treated differently depending on how they are used and who is liable for council tax.
In practice, Cornwall tells you to contact them if you think a national exception applies rather than assuming you qualify.
Appeal and challenge process
Cornwall uses the standard England council tax challenge route.
- Contact Cornwall Council's council tax team and ask them to review the classification or premium, explaining why you think the property is your main residence, not a second home, or why an exception applies.
- You will usually be asked for evidence: tenancy agreements, utility bills, electoral registration, employment contracts, marketing details if it is genuinely for sale or let, probate documents, etc.
- If you are not happy with the written decision after giving them a chance to reconsider, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England about the premium, discount or liability.
Dispute it in writing with Cornwall Council first. If they refuse to change it, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England.
Contact details
- Council tax telephone: 0300 1234 171 (Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 9am-6pm, Wed from 10am).
- Online contact: council tax online contact form via Cornwall Council's website under "Council tax - contact us".
- Postal: Cornwall Council, County Hall, Treyew Road, Truro, TR1 3AY.
Number of second homes and empties in Cornwall
- Second homes: 13,140 (from council taxbase statistics, October 2023).
- Long-term empty properties: 2,652 (Cornwall Council Revenues and Assessments, snapshot August 2024).
A 2021 Penzance neighbourhood plan report, based on Cornwall data, shows that in some parishes with over 12% second homes, prices are around 1.4x the Cornwall average, which is the political driver behind the premium policy.
Revenue raised from premiums
Cornwall's Empty Homes and Second Homes Premiums Policy 2026 references substantial expected income from the 100% second-home premium, used to support local services and housing initiatives.
An April 2026 national news piece reports that second-home owners in Cornwall paid GBP 25 million in the first full year of double council tax bills (the second-home premium year following its April 2025 introduction).
Cornwall expects premium income from second homes alone in the tens of millions of pounds each year, with one recent report putting the first full year of double council tax at about GBP 25 million.
Timeline and future changes
Empty-home premium: 100% premium after 2 years empty introduced earlier, but replaced with the current 12-month trigger from 1 April 2024, plus 5- and 10-year step-ups.
Second-home premium: Cornwall Council agreed in 2023-24 to bring in a 100% second-home premium from 1 April 2025, using the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act powers. As at April 2026, the council's second-homes page confirms the 100% premium remains in force with no published plan to raise it above 100% or to introduce additional duration bands for second homes.
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