Senior Powys councillors have unanimously agreed to ask people from Powys and beyond for their views on increasing Council Tax premiums by up to 300 per cent on long-term empty properties.

At a special meeting of Powys County Council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour cabinet on Tuesday, June 30, councillors received a report on the proposal to launch a consultation on increasing the premiums.

Council leader Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod North) reminded his colleagues that the item had been deferred from last week’s cabinet meeting.

From April 2023, the Welsh Government expanded the discretionary powers available to local authorities, allowing significantly higher premiums of up to 300 per cent to be charged on long-term empty properties.

At present, the council charges a 100 per cent Council Tax premium.

This means owners pay double the standard Council Tax charge, and this has been in place since April 2023.

Cabinet member for finance, Cllr David Thomas (Labour – Tawe Uchaf), explained the proposal: “Long-term empty properties represent a substantially underused asset that could help meet local need more sustainably.

“A stepped premium approach, where the level increases incrementally in line with the length of time a property has remained empty, may function as an incentive for owners to bring properties back into use as homes.”

He pointed out that there are currently 897 long-term empty properties in Powys.

Tables in the report show that the number has fallen from 1,060 in 2017/18, when a 50 per cent premium was charged, to 921 last year.

Cllr Thomas said: “The premium has had some impact in moderating the number of long-term empty properties, but it has not delivered a sustained or significant reduction.

“This indicates that a flat-rate approach is not strong enough to drive change in more persistent cases.

“The stepped premium would link the level of Council Tax charged to the length of time a dwelling has remained continuously empty and unfurnished.”

He added that no decision on increasing the premium would be taken yet, as further reports considering the consultation results and an impact assessment would need to come before councillors before any changes could be made.

Cabinet member for highways and environment, Cllr Jackie Charlton (Liberal Democrat – Llangattock and Llangynidr), asked: “Can I confirm that the consultation will go beyond the Powys boundary, as a lot of people who own long-term empty properties don’t actually live in Powys?”

Head of finance Mari Thomas said: “The plan is to write to the owners of the empty properties and make them aware of the consultation so that they have every opportunity to respond and provide their views.”

Cllr Berriman said: “We all know of empty properties in our area that can bring the quality of the area down, abandoned, unloved and deteriorating.

“It’s such a waste when they could house people and help address the housing issues we face, which can be quite acute in some areas.”

He stressed that this was not an exercise to raise money for the council but to “incentivise landowners” to bring these properties back into use.

The cabinet voted unanimously to launch the consultation.

It is expected to begin soon and will run for six weeks over the summer.