Empty and second homes in Bracknell could be charged double council tax from April next year as the council seeks to raise its income.

Proposals to Bracknell Forest Council leaders recommend adding a 100 per cent premium to homes that have been left empty and unfurnished for more than a year. They recommend doing the same to those classed as ‘second homes.’

Documents suggest the moves could raise a total of £525,000 a year starting from April 2025. They say that the council will need to rely more heavily on council tax to ‘support essential front-line services.’

The moves take advantage of changes to the law brought in by the government in 2022. Previously councils were only allowed to charge double council tax on homes left empty and unfurnished for more than two years.

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Bracknell Forest Council says there are currently 231 such homes in the borough. It adds that if it were to start charging double on homes left empty for one year, it could raise an extra £400,000 a year.

The changes to the law also newly allow councils to charge double council tax on dwellings that are not someone’s ‘main home.’ The council says there are 78 of these in Bracknell Forest, and that it could raise £125,000 a year by bringing in the new charge.

However the new funding wouldn’t be available until April 2025, as the council says it will need to give a year’s notice before implementing the premiums.

The changes to the law were brought in by the government to try and push owners of empty and second homes to bring them back into use.

But councils across the country are also struggling to make ends meet – finding that their income from grants and council tax is not enough to cover rising costs – and are looking for ways to plug the gap. Wokingham Borough Council agreed to bring in the same charges at a meeting last month.

Bracknell Forest Council’s leading group of councillors – the executive committee – will consider the proposals at a meeting on Tuesday, February 6. If they approve, the plans will then have to be voted on by the rest of the council on February 21.