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28
Sept
Campaigners to go to ombudsman over doubling of second homes council tax
A campaign group fighting the doubling of council tax on second homes has been advised by a barrister that they have grounds to make a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman.
SHOUT (Second Homeowners Opposed to Unfair Tax) plans to cite maladministration in the decision-making process adopted by North Yorkshire Council.
The council introduced the 100% council tax premium on second homes in April 2025 in a bid to help tackle the county’s housing shortage and encourage more properties to become permanently occupied.
However, SHOUT, which was started in Filey but now has members from across North Yorkshire, claims the council failed to consult second-home owners and other affected groups before introducing the policy.
The group argues that councils should consider the impact on businesses, local services, the wider economy and which properties should be included before implementing such a premium.
A 1,000-signature petition was delivered to the council on July 31, asking that the tax is paused until there has been a review, and will be debated at a meeting this week.
Chris Hall, from SHOUT, hands the petition to Daniel Harry, North Yorkshire Council's head of democratic services.
The council has issued detailed rebuttals to points raised in the petition, and officers have recommended that councillors note the points raised instead of supporting the petition or recommending further consideration of the levy.
SHOUT said it had been advised that the council did not seem to have given meaningful consideration to the amount of premium being charged, not justifying why the statutory maximum of 100% was charged, rather than considering alternative scenarios where a lower premium was charged.
The statutory guidance states that the powers to charge the empty homes or second homes premium is discretionary and it is for councils to decide whether to charge the premiums in their local area and at what rate.
SHOUT also claim that the council didn’t effectively consult on the proposal, only doing it once and not at the appropriate stage of the decision-making process.
A spokesperson for the campaign group added:
The council seems to have been openly dismissive, for example, deputy leader Gareth Dadd sarcastically said his ‘heart bleeds’ when told of the financial and emotional stress of the doubling council tax.
He advised second homeowners to ‘rent or sell’ their second homes, but refused to meet affected owners when they offered to show him properties that were not eligible for renting or were proving difficult to sell.
The Stray Ferret approached North Yorkshire Council for comment, but we did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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