Council Tax Premium in West Suffolk: Second Homes and Empty Properties

West Suffolk is going with the standard English max: 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 - rate, definition, timing

• Decision: Full Council approved the second-home premium in February 2024.
• Start date: from 1 April 2025, a 100% Second Home Premium applies.
• Rate: "a 100% Second Home Premium charge will be applied to properties that are furnished and do not have anyone living in them as their main home. This means that 200% Council Tax is payable."

So:

• Second-home premium: 100%.
• Total bill on a second home (2025-26 onwards): 200% of the normal council tax.

Definition (from Anglia Revenues Partnership text, which West Suffolk uses):

A second home is a property that is substantially furnished and has no one living in it as their sole or main residence. "Furnished, but not anyone's main home."

Long-term empty properties - current premiums

West Suffolk already has the full stepped regime in place, and tightened it from April 2024.

From 1 April 2024 the long-term empty premium is:

The council explains this is to "encourage owners of long-term empty properties to bring them back into occupation and reduce the number of long-term empty homes across the Local Authority area".

In practical owner terms:

• Leave a place empty and unfurnished for a year: your bill doubles.
• Leave it 5+ years: treble.
• Leave it 10+ years: four times the standard bill.

Exceptions and reductions

West Suffolk applies the standard English rules for when premiums cannot or need not apply.

From Anglia Revenues and West Suffolk's own guidance:

• Premiums only kick in where a property is empty and unfurnished for the long-term empty rules, or furnished with no main resident for the second-home premium.
• If a dwelling is in a full exemption class (for example certain probate periods, some care cases, student halls etc.), you do not pay the underlying council tax or the premium while that exemption lasts.
• For second homes, there is no minimum period it must have been used as a second home. The premium can apply as soon as the classification is correct, but the national exception list (job-related dwellings, certain annexes, some armed-forces situations) can protect a small minority.
• Specific discretionary reliefs or exceptions for premiums are administered through the Anglia Revenues Partnership "apply for discount/exemption" process.

Most furnished places with no full-time resident will be hit; empty ones only escape while they are exempt or within short grace periods.

Appeals and challenge route

Standard England pattern:

1. Challenge the classification with Anglia Revenues / West Suffolk council tax if you think your property is wrongly treated as a second home or long-term empty, or if an exemption should apply.
2. Provide evidence: tenancy agreements, bills, electoral roll, GP registration to show it is a main residence; sales or letting marketing if you are genuinely trying to sell or let; probate or care documentation where relevant.
3. If they refuse to change their decision, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England.

Dispute it in writing with evidence. If they still say no, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

Contacts

All council tax and premium information is routed through West Suffolk's Council Tax hub and the Anglia Revenues Partnership online services. Owners are directed to use the ARP's "Apply for discounts and exemptions" and "Empty or Second Homes and Annexes" pages to notify empty/second-home status or apply for reliefs.

Manage your West Suffolk council tax and premiums through Anglia Revenues Partnership's online services, or contact the council tax team using the details on your bill.

Numbers and revenue

• West Suffolk has been charging a premium since 2019, increasing the rates in line with new legislation; the current 1/5/10-year bands were approved at Full Council in February 2024.
• The 2024-25 statutory information leaflet confirms the stepped premium levels and that they are part of the wider council taxbase that raises GBP 133.35 million in council tax in 2025-26, of which GBP 12.11 million (9.1%) goes to West Suffolk Council itself.

West Suffolk already charges 200-400% council tax on long-term empties, and from April 2025 will charge double council tax on second homes, using the new national powers. The premiums are explicitly there to push owners to bring empty and second homes back into full-time use.

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