Call for Chichester area properties listed as 'holiday homes' to pay council tax

During a meeting of the full council, Graeme Barrett (Con, The Witterings) shared his concerns about the number of such homes in West Wittering and described how some were also not required to pay business rates because their Rateable Value was so low.

Mr Barrett tabled a notice of motion – which was fully supported – asking Gillian Keegan MP to raise the matter with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.

He and others raised concerns that some of the holiday homes were still making use of services such as rubbish and recycling collection despite not paying council tax.

Peter Wilding (Con, Fernhurst) said: “Currently there’s a loophole where a property owner can claim their property is available to let for 140 days a year in order to get it assessed for business rates rather than council tax.

“If it’s a small business it pays no rates.

“This applies even if it’s not advertised or the rent is prohibitively high and no one will rent it.”

Mr Wilding told the meeting that those rules were being tightened from April 1 2023 so that the homes had to have actually been let for 70 days rather than just advertised.

He added: “My view is holiday lets should not be exempt from council tax at all because they receive exactly the same services as a property occupied by an owner.”

The meeting was told that Chichester Contract Services was contacting all owners regarding rubbish collection as those who do not pay council tax needed to pay for a trade waste disposal certificate.

Mr Barrett’s motion also asked how the council could be reimbursed for the services it had provided to those not paying anything.

He said: “This is just the tip of the iceberg.

“It could be [happening] across the district, across the county, everywhere else – there could be a large number not paying anything.”

The motion was seconded by Jonathan Brown (Lib Dem, Southbourne), who said: “As we go deeper into a cost of living crisis, I think it’s entirely sensible we consider ways of ensuring we raise income in a way that’s as equitable as possible.”