Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill 2017-19, House of Commons, 23 April 2018

We are seeking assurances from the Government that this Bill will have no detrimental impact on local government.

19 Apr 2018

We are seeking assurances from the Government that this Bill will have no detrimental impact on local government. We therefore welcome the recommendation of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee that the Government should take steps to quantify the potential effect on individual local authorities of the provisions of the Bill.
We are looking to engage with the Government to explore the financial impact on councils of the Government’s plans to reinstate features of the business rates valuation practice which applied prior to the Supreme Court in Woolway v Mazars.
There are currently more than 200,000 empty properties in England. It is positive that the Government has taken on board our recommendation to provide councils with the ability to charge more for empty homes. This will give councils the tools they have been calling for to increase the incentive for owners of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use.