Reform council plans tax rise on second homes despite Farage calling it ‘extortion’

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A council led by Reform UK is planning to double council tax on second homes despite party leader Nigel Farage branding the policy “blackmail” and “madness”.

North Northamptonshire, one of nine councils across England dominated by Reform in local elections in May, is due to vote on Tuesday on a proposal to introduce a 100 per cent council tax bonus on second homes from April 2027.

It also plans to increase the number of people required to pay a higher rate of council tax for long-term empty properties, to include properties that have been empty for one year, down from two years.

Since April this year, councils in England have been allowed to increase council tax by 100% on second homes as a result of legislation introduced by the previous Conservative government. About two-thirds of local authorities have already started applying this allowance.

Farage objected to the move, telling the Daily Telegraph in April that “owning property was a right and a freedom. Today it has become an excuse for the government to use blackmail.”

The following month, after the local elections, Farage told the same newspaper that the policy was “insanity”, adding that “whatever the downsides of increasing house prices, these people are bringing a lot of money into these areas.”

Asked specifically about the two reform-led councils that have already introduced the bonus, Durham and West Northamptonshire, Farage said the party leadership would have a “conversation with our group of councils” about the issue.

The tension between national and local reform policy highlights the severe challenges councils face as they seek to balance their books amid ballooning costs for key services.

While Farage and other senior reform figures have pledged to cut spending across local authorities and cut taxes where possible, councilors on the ground are facing pressure to provide support for a growing group of children and adults in need of social care, and many are preparing for a rise in council tax next year.

In North Northamptonshire there are 511 homes believed to be second homes, which, if taxed at the new rate, would generate a maximum of £840,000 extra revenue for the council, according to a report submitted to the council last month.

In a document setting out the rationale for adapting the policy, which was first reported by PoliticsHome, North Northamptonshire Council members said they aimed to “encourage owners to bring properties back into use more quickly to address the well-reported housing shortage”.

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Reform UK at North Northamptonshire Council is working hard to deliver a balanced budget and address nearly 7,000 property shortfalls in homes inherited after decades of local and national Tory mismanagement.

“While we oppose at a national level council tax premiums on second homes, we accept that local authorities have far fewer tools at their disposal than the national government when it comes to tackling the urgent housing shortage.”