Holiday home owners in Rye face a huge increase in their council tax, if budget proposals get the go ahead. On Monday, February 5 Rother District Council’s cabinet considered a range of budget plans for the 2024/25 financial year, ahead of a full council decision later this month. Among the budget proposals — including a general council tax increase of 2.99% — are plans to introduce an 100% council tax premium for second homes from 2025/26.
Alongside this, the council is also considering reducing the time period before an existing 100% premium applies to empty homes. Currently, a property owner can leave a home unoccupied and unfurnished for up to two years before the premium bites; the council is looking at reducing this period to 12 months.
In a report to cabinet, officers say the measures are intended to incentivise empty properties being brought back into use, and to revert the use of second homes to primary residences, as well as provide additional council tax income.
The measures come alongside a range of other budget proposals, including increased fees and charges, the use of reserves and further savings from the council’s Fit for the Future programme totalling £3.1 million. This figure includes efficiency savings, as well as increased income from the council’s investments and fees and charges. The increased fees and charges will touch on a wide range of areas, from the cost of renting sports pitches to burial fees. In all, these additional charges are expected to bring an additional £160,000 into the council’s budget.
These proposals come alongside a 2.99% council increase, which will see the average band D household pay £204.54 to Rother District Council in 2024/25. The full household bill will be larger, as other local authorities — such as Rye Town Council and East Sussex County Council — are also set to increase their precepts. Despite this, Rother District Council still plans to use £185,000 of its reserves to balance its budget in 2024/25.
If backed by cabinet, the proposals will be put to a full council vote at a meeting expected to be held on Monday, February 26.
