The number of second homes for sale in Pembrokeshire, Wales has tripled since the introduction of a 200% council tax increase. In July, figures showed that there were 135 second homes on the market compared to 38 the previous year. Estate agents have reported high levels of houses going on the market, causing damage to the tourist industry. Campaigners have said that a legal act is needed to provide locals with the right to buy property, highlighting the 30% of properties in the seaside town of Newport that are second homes.
New rules have been implemented by the Welsh government intended to make it easier for people to afford homes in the area where they grew up. Local authorities have been given the power to charge up to 300% on top of the normal council tax rate for those who own a second home in Wales. However, this has caused tension, particularly in coastal areas and West Coast beauty spots, where the issue of second homes is particularly thorny.
Councils such as Cyngor Gwynedd, which imposed a 150% premium on second homes, and Conwy and Anglesey, which imposed increased rates of 100%, have faced criticism from holiday homeowners and tourism boards. Locals in certain areas have backed charges against wealthy second home owners who are pricing them out of the market. Pembrokeshire has responded by tripling council tax bills, resulting in the number of second homes on sale in the county increasing by 97 in 12 months (a 255% increase).
Managing Director of West Wales Properties, Neil Evans, has said that the council tax premium has had a “huge impact,” with property coming onto the market at such high volumes that he has never seen before. However, housing reform campaigner Hedd Ladd Lewis has called for a “property act” that would provide local communities with a legal right to a house. Welsh Conservative councillor Alan Thomas, who opposes the premium, has claimed that tourism is being damaged, and has insisted that more houses must be built by the council
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