this post was submitted on 19 May 2025
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To try to tackle this, the Welsh Labour government, alongside Plaid Cymru, introduced measures to curb second-home ownership. This included giving councils the ability to push council tax on second homes to 300% the usual rate. They also closed a loophole whereby second-home owners could register as a business in order to pay the much lower business rates.

Gwynedd council used these powers to hike council tax to 150% in April 2023. By the end of 2024, house prices had fallen by 12.4% as second-home owners tried to sell up. In Pembrokeshire, house prices fell by 8.9% after the council increased the council tax to 200% on second homes (though this was reduced to 150% recently).

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[–] BedSharkPal@lemmy.ca 6 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (2 children)

Such an obvious thing too. Personally I'd rather they just ban ownership beyond a primary home until the crisis is over. But I get from a political point of view that it would be less doable.

[–] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

Or impose a minimum radius around a property where you can't buy a second one and then a minimum around both where you can't have a third one and so on. Want to have a house in the city and a cottage >100km away in a straight line? Go ahead. Want to own a bunch of house and use them as short term rental units? Better be ready to waste your time traveling all over the country buddy!

[–] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Or impose a minimum radius around a property where you can't buy a second one and then a minimum around both where you can't have a third one and so on. Want to have a house in the city and a cottage >100km away in a straight line? Go ahead.

But this is what's causing the problems. People are buying second houses in holiday destinations, then either leaving them empty for most of the year, or renting them out for things like Airbnb. House prices are going up, and locals can't afford to buy. Off season, the local businesses don't have enough custom to sustain themselves, and end up going under.

[–] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

Most people who do that do it close enough to home to take care of it themselves though

[–] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 41 minutes ago

The whole point of holiday homes is that they're not near the main home, otherwise it defeats the object.

[–] gusgalarnyk@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

Where are you getting that opinion? Is that backed by data or literally anything that would give weight to what you're saying?

Otherwise you're just defending landlords. Cause that sounds so wrong it's unbelievable someone would just assert that.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 4 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

That would work better, wouldn't it. I bet they can pick their primary home or do they have to prove it? If they don't have to prove it, it would be easy enough to say that the Wales home is their primary and their second home is in a place with not tax burdens. I guess we have to do this everywhere?

[–] Oni_eyes@sh.itjust.works 7 points 16 hours ago

Most places have a specific occupancy duration to qualify as a primary home, right?

If not, that seems to be a good option. Primary counts if used by owner for living >240 days of the year (random number but figured it should be at least 3/4 a year or so). Like how we calculate whether someone counts as in state vs out of state for tuition.