Regeneration minister Andrew Stunell said owners of long-empty homes could be hit with a tax hike
The owners of long-empty homes could be hit by a tax hike in a bid to push them into returning them to the market, a Liberal Democrat minister says.
Regeneration minister Andrew Stunell said powers for local authorities to add a levy to council tax bills would be the subject of a consultation.
He will also tell community and voluntary groups that they will be allowed to bid for cash from a £100 million fund to pay for doing up empty houses.
At a time of a chronic shortage in housing, it was a "crime" that 300,000 properties had been vacant for more than six months, Mr Stunell told the Liberal Democrat conference.
The Government is due to publish its empty homes strategy in the autumn, which will include a raft of initiatives to tackle the long-standing problem.
At present, properties are exempt from council tax for the first six months of being left empty, after which it is levied at the standard rate.
Under the Empty Homes Premium proposal, any that were still empty after two years could become liable to the higher local charge.
"Discretionary, naturally. Localist, certainly. With essential safeguards and exemptions, of course. But a nudge to owners to bring abandoned homes back into use, an extra weapon in a council's armoury in the battle to make better use of our housing stock," Mr Stunell told activists.
"The premium will act as a spur for landlords to bring their properties back into use quickly. Where they don't, it will provide an extra revenue stream for local authorities to plough back into bringing more homes back into use."
Talking about the £100 million kickstart fund, announced last year, he said the strategy would "open the door" to bids from councils, housing associations and other providers, with work on the ground starting next April.
