£5 million bill for empty properties?
20 November 2009
Plans are to be put forward later this month for a controversial new 'empty property tax' for landlords whose properties remain vacant for extended periods. The General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has raised proposals to the Chancellor to charge residential landlords up to five times the usual council tax on homes which remain empty, shockingly averaging nearly £6000 per year.

The bid comes as the need for social housing in the UK is on the rise, along with a shortage of available properties, and it is hoped this will provide a solution in forcing landlords to either let them out or sell them on. Brendan Barber, of the TUC, believes such measures will cut housing shortages, making more properties available for first time buyers and to the rental market, especially in areas like London.

Such radical measures have been met with general approval, with people appreciating the sentiment, however such a high tax in such turbulent times is unlikely to prove popular in practice and we must wait a little longer for the Chancellor's reaction to the plans.

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