It was a couple’s dream to have a holiday home by the sea but new council tax rules on second homes meant selling it was a nightmare.
Susan Pape’s holiday home at Royal Crescent Court (Image: Nicholsons Property Group / SWNS)
A pensioner has revealed how her lifetime holiday home dream has shattered – thanks to a council tax crackdown on second properties. Susan Pape, 72, is facing the prospect of a £60k loss on the sale of her holiday apartment in Filey, North Yorkshire, after the local authority decided to hike the tax on second homes.
She and her husband, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, purchased their flat at Royal Crescent Court 16 years ago for just shy of £130,000, using a ‘small inheritance’ she had received. A year ago they decided to sell their seaside retreat while they still had the energy to – but have suffered a dearth of buyer interest, which they blame on the heightened council tax demands.
Susan Pape, 72. (Image: Susan Pape / SWNS)
The view from Susan Pape’s holiday home (Image: Nicholsons Property Group / SWNS)
Susan bemoaned: “I think for a lot of people like us, it’s the final straw really.
“When you start having to go into your savings every month you think, well, if I didn’t have the flat we could go and have mini breaks, or use the money for something else like heating our own house in the winter.”
From April, the one-bedroom flat, when not used as a primary residence, attracts an annual council tax bill of £3,234 – a figure that has doubled – in addition to the yearly service charges of £4,800.
North Yorkshire Council defends the double council tax measure as a means to boost the supply of affordable homes in the area.
Susan said many second-home owners now no longer feel welcome and she fears for the potential repercussions on local businesses.
Having struggled to secure a sale for her flat even after reducing the asking price to a mere £70,000 – significantly less than the purchase price – the situation appears dire.
Susan shared her experience: “We’ve spent about £15,000 doing it up because it needed complete modernisation, we did that fairly early on
“It was valued last year at £165,000, and we’ve just been reducing the price. Then we decided to go up for auction.”
Her continued disappointment is apparent as she added: “It’s been on the auction site since February, and we’ve had two viewings – that doesn’t seem to me that there’s a desperate need for property in that area.”
This comes in the wake of new legislation passed in 2023 which allows local councils the option to double council tax on second homes.
The measure aims to assist first-time homebuyers in entering the market, yet according to Susan, there appears to be little interest from this demographic.
Reflecting on conversations with locals, she explained: “First-time buyers, I’ve spoken to young people in the town, and they say ‘sorry, we don’t want a first-floor, one bedroom flat.’
“They want a house, they want a two-bedroom, three-bedroom house where they can have a family and a dog, and a garden – which is quite understandable.”
Now, after much deliberation, Susan is mulling over the idea of offering her flat to the local council.
She expressed: “My next move is to get in touch with the council and say ‘look, we’re up for sale – why don’t you buy it off us and put some people in it?’
“If you have actually got a housing waiting list, which they claim they have, you can marry up some of the flats for sale with people looking for property.”
Susan Pape’s holiday home bedroom (Image: Nicholsons Property Group / SWNS)
Susan Pape’s holiday home (Image: Nicholsons Property Group / SWNS)
A home with a nice kitchen (Image: Nicholsons Property Group / SWNS)
Criticising current policies, she added: “If it’s council homes they’re short of, then surely over the past few years that’s what they should have been building? I don’t see why people like me have to be penalised for this.”
North Yorkshire Council’s deputy leader Cllr Gareth Dadd said in response: “As the geographically largest council in England, a lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges we face in North Yorkshire and we’re doing all we can to allow people to live in the places that they wish to.
“Introducing the council tax premium is aimed at bringing second homes back into use for local communities.”
Highlighting the extent of the problem and the council’s commitment, he continued: “We have more than 9,000 people on housing waiting lists in the county and over 8,200 second homes.
“This additional funding will allow us to deliver a range of housing interventions including supporting the delivery of more than 400 new affordable homes over the next four years, in those areas of North Yorkshire where properties are needed the most.”
Emphasising their dedication to the policy, he concluded: “This is a new policy, but it is one we are totally committed to, and we will be making sure that those homeowners who have to pay the premium actually do so.”
A Ministry of Housing spokesperson has stated: “We are determined to fix the housing crisis we have inherited, and we know that having too many second homes in an area can drive up housing costs for local people and damage public services.
“That is why local authorities can opt to add up to 100% extra on the council tax bills of second homes to help local leaders address the impacts of second homes and protect their communities.”
