Gwynedd raises council tax premium on second homes to 150%

Properties on South Snowdon Wharf in Porthmadog. Gwynedd will add a 150% premium on to the council tax of second homes Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian

Second-home owners in north Wales will have to pay a 150% council tax premium to tackle the area’s spiralling and “immoral” homelessness crisis.

Councillors in Gwynedd agreed to raise the premium from its current 100% level – so already twice what permanent residents pay – and use the extra £3m it believes it will raise to provide more accommodation for people who are struggling to find a home.