An area of Wales with some of the highest concentration of second homes in tourist areas is set to bring in a significant increase to council tax bills for people who aren't permanent residents.
Gwynedd council plans increase the premium it charges to the owners of 23,000 second homes in the area to 150% in April this year. At the moment, second home owners in the area pay 100% extra - or double - the normal council tax rate.
Tourist hotspots including Abersoch in the Llyn Peninsula are in Gwynedd council and Welsh language communities in the area have been affected by the rising price of houses driven by people looking for second homes. See more on the issue here.
Read more: 'We need answers now': The second homes crisis in the part of Wales worst hit
The rise has been agreed by the council's cabinet and will be presented to a meeting of the full council in December. The change could see Gwynedd as one of the first in Wales to make use of new powers announced by the Welsh Government to let councils increase council tax bills premiums on second homes and long-term empty properties up to 300%.
Other councils also looking at using the powers include Bridgend, which includes the seaside resort of Porthcawl, where the council is looking at a premium of 100% from April rising to 200% in two years time.
For 28 days from September to October, Gwynedd Council carried out a public consultation on how to use new powers that would allow them to further increase council tax premium on second homes and long-term empty properties.
Councillor Ioan Thomas, Cyngor Gwynedd's Cabinet Member for Finance, said that of all the consultations that the council had carried out over recent years, this consultation had triggered the largest number of responses, with more than 7,300 people taking part.
He added: "We have emphasised from the beginning that this exercise was not a referendum, but an opportunity to understand the opinions and experiences of a range of people. We have now had an opportunity to reflect on the results of the survey and I will ask the Cabinet to recommend that the Full Council increase the Premium from 100% to 150% for second homes and keep the Premium at 100% on empty houses.
"It is important to remember that this report being presented to the Cabinet is one step in the process and that the Full Council will make the final decision regarding the Council Tax Premium at its meeting in December."
The discussion regarding the Council Tax Premium across Wales has largely focused on the impact that second homes have on the local housing market, leading to an increase in prices beyond what residents in some parts of the country can afford.
As of last week, Bridgend County Borough Council’s cabinet followed in Cyngor Gwynedd's footsteps and approved plans to start a consultation process about increasing the council tax charge for owners of second homes and long-term empty properties.
A four-week consultation period has now started in the county, which will include the council writing directly to the owner of every empty property to invite their feedback. You can find out more about this consultation here.
In Gwynedd, the average house price in the county is £230,998 according to the latest Wales House Price Index from Principality Building Society. The household income you need to buy in the county would be £51,333.
According to Stats Wales, in 2020 the average gross disposable household income for a Gwynedd resident was £16,007 a year, with many jobs in the county heavily dependent on the tourist industry. According to Welsh Government data, as of July this year Gwynedd had 4,720 chargeable second properties for the period 2022/3, which is a slight fall from the previous year's figure of 5,098.
It also had 1,349 long term empty second properties, also a small drop from last year's figure of 1,558. It means possibly that around 6,000 properties are unavailable as homes for local people.
On top of this however, Gwynedd has seen a 47% increase in homelessness numbers over the last two years. According to Councillor Ioan Thomas, any additional money that comes into the council's coffers as a result of the change should be earmarked for tackling the homelessness crisis in the county.
He said: "During 2021/22, 1,126 people contacted the Council because they were homeless, which is an increase of 19% compared to last year and an increase of 47% on the year 2018/19. There is no doubt that the cost of living crisis has contributed greatly to this heart-breaking situation.
"Securing safe accommodation for people who have nowhere else to live means that the Council is spending £6 million more this year alone on homelessness services and this is of course money that is not available to maintain other essential services. I therefore recommend that additional income from the Premium is used to help bridge this gap."
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