Council Tax Premium in Northumberland: Second Homes and Empty Properties

Northumberland is using the new powers to the hilt: from 1 April 2025 you pay double council tax on second homes, and from 1 April 2024 long-term empties are on 200-400% total depending how long they have been empty.

Second homes - premium, definition, timing

• The Council Tax Discounts Policy confirms that, following the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, Northumberland will "implement the maximum 100% premium and double the council tax charge for second homes from 1 April 2025."
• The Second and Holiday Homes Technical Paper repeats this: Full Council in February 2024 resolved to charge the maximum 100% premium on second homes.

So from 1 April 2025:

• Second-home premium: 100%.
• Total bill on a second home: 200% of the normal council tax.

Definition:

National guidance and the Northumberland technical paper define second homes as dwellings that are substantially furnished but have no resident who treats the property as their sole or main residence.

If your Northumberland place is furnished and not genuinely someone's main home, from April 2025 the council treats it as a second/holiday home and charges double council tax.

Numbers and revenue

• The technical paper notes that, as at end of March 2021, there were thousands of second and holiday homes in the county, with coastal parishes like Beadnell, Seahouses and Bamburgh having particularly high concentrations.
• A BBC piece from April 2024 confirms residents in those communities are petitioning for the extra second-home tax income to be ring-fenced locally, and that the council's 100% premium on second homes starts from 1 April 2025.

Northumberland will be charging double council tax on thousands of second and holiday homes from April 2025, with coastal Northumberland a major focus.

Long-term empty properties - premium bands

Northumberland has long used empty-home premiums and has now switched to the 1-year trigger with full stepped bands.

From the Advice and Information for Empty Homeowners PDF and the online "Empty and second homes premiums" page:

The brochure puts it plainly:

• "100% for properties which have been empty and substantially unfurnished for 1 year or more, but less than 5 years. This means 200% council tax is payable."
• "200% for 5 years or more, but less than 10 years. This means 300% council tax is payable."
• "300% for 10 years or more. This means 400% council tax is payable."

So:

• Empty and unfurnished under 1 year: normal council tax.
• 1-5 years: double.
• 5-10 years: triple.
• 10+ years: four times the normal bill.

Exceptions and grace periods

Northumberland follows the national exceptions that apply from April 2025 and its own discount policy.

From the Council Tax Discounts Policy and national guidance:

Premiums must not be charged where a dwelling falls into prescribed exception classes, for example:

• Annexes forming part of a main dwelling.
• Dwellings only empty or second homes because the taxpayer is required to live in armed forces accommodation.
• Certain job-related dwellings.

For both second-home and empty-home premiums, there are also 12-month exception periods where:

• The property has recently been exempt under Class F (probate).
• The property is being genuinely marketed for sale or for let (with conditions around reasonable price and tenancy length).

Northumberland's empty-homes advice emphasises that the premium is being applied "to incentivise owners and landlords to bring long term empty properties back into use", and that where there are major structural issues or legal barriers, owners should contact the council to discuss their options.

Appeals and challenge route

Appeals work the same here as elsewhere in England:

1. Owners who think their property is wrongly classified as a second home / long-term empty, or that an exception applies, must contact the council tax team and request a review.
2. Evidence will be needed: tenancy agreements, utility bills, sales or letting marketing, probate documents, planning or legal notices, or armed-forces / job-related paperwork.
3. If they still disagree with the council's decision, they 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.

Contacts and empty-homes work

• The Council Tax landing page links straight to "empty and second homes premiums" plus the "empty property review" form, which is used to confirm occupancy status and avoid or apply premiums correctly.
• The Guide to Empty Homes 2025 sets out wider tools: grants, Empty Dwelling Management Orders and enforcement to tackle problematic empties.

On revenue, Northumberland's technical paper and BBC coverage emphasise the 100% second-home premium is explicitly designed to generate additional council tax income and to discourage homes being held as part-time pads in high-pressure coastal areas.

From April 2025 Northumberland will charge double council tax on second homes, and from April 2024 it already charges double, triple or even four times the normal bill on long-term empty properties, with only narrow exception windows for probate, genuine sale/let or specific statutory categories.

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