Labour’s Shadow Housing Secretary, will tomorrow announce that
Labour will tax second homes to help tackle homelessness and
rising wealth inequality.
Under Labour’s plans, second properties used as
holiday homes would be subject to a national levy based on the
value of the property, equivalent to double the current rate of
council tax.
The money raised from the new levy would be
earmarked for councils across the country to help homeless
families with children living in temporary accommodation. Latest
figures show that there are over 120,000 children homeless in
this sort of emergency housing – up two thirds since 2010.
Up to 174,000 properties could be subject to the
levy, which could raise up to £560m a year. The available data
suggests that these homes are particularly common in rural areas
like Cornwall, North Norfolk and South Lakeland, and urban areas
like Kensington and Chelsea.
MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing
Secretary, said:
“Britain’s rapidly rising homelessness shames us
all. It is unforgivable that under the Tories, the number of
children stuck growing up in hostels and B&Bs has
skyrocketed.
“Over the last eight years, the Government has
turned its back on the scandal of poor housing and homelessness.
A housing market that works for the many needs Government action
to ensure everyone has a place to call home.
“As part of the next Labour Government’s plan to
rebuild Britain, we will introduce a levy on second homes used as
holiday homes to help homeless families. Labour will act to put a
brake on the growing gap between Britain’s housing ‘haves’ and
‘have-nots’.”
Ends
Notes to editors
·
Second
home-ownership is at the heart of widening wealth inequality.
Research by the Resolution Foundation found that nine in 10
additional property owners are in the top half of the wealth
distribution: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/media/press-releases/21st-century-britain-has-seen-a-30-per-cent-increase-in-second-home-ownership/.
·
Homelessness has risen dramatically since 2010. Rough
sleeping more than doubled and there are 80,000 families –
including over 120,000 children currently homeless in temporary
accommodation, an increase of two-thirds since 2010: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/media/press-releases/21st-century-britain-has-seen-a-30-per-cent-increase-in-second-home-ownership/.
·
Up to
174,000 properties could pay the new levy, based on analysis by
the independent House of Commons Library. This draws on
information from the national council tax database, and the
English Housing Survey microdata.
·
The
levy would be equivalent to double the current council tax bill
for the property in question, which would lead to an average
charge of around £3,000 per property, per year. In
total, the levy is estimated to raise up to
£560m a year.
·
The
levy would only be applicable to second homes primarily used as
holiday houses and flats, and would not include, for example,
homes that are rented out, used for employment purposes or static
caravans.
