Wandsworth Conservatives have pledged that if re-elected next week they will charge double Council Tax on homes left empty for months.
“We’ve only just been given this power, thanks to a new law passed by the Conservative Government nationally.”
Guy Senior, Cabinet Member with responsibility for finance said: “At the moment there are about 500 longer term empty properties in Wandsworth which could be lived in. Over 100 have been empty for over 2 years. We have long had a programme of trying to bring them back to use, which sometimes involves compulsory purchase orders. These new tax proposals give us another way to persuade owners to put their properties to good use and to avoid the dereliction that can come with long term empty properties.”
Currently the Council can charge 150% Council Tax on empty properties. This proposal would raise up to about £175,000 to spend on local services.