By Eddie Bisknell

South Derbyshire District Council is planning to charge long-term empty houses triple in tax in a bid to bring them back into use and raise money.

It says that the proposal could bring in nearly a quarter of a million pounds in a year from 74 homes that have been vacant for between five and 10 years.

If approved at a meeting on Thursday, January 9, the changes would come into practice from April.

In total, the extra taxes could bring in £221,000.

The council already has in place a double tax charge for homes that have been empty for up to five years – implemented in April 2019 – reducing the number of vacant properties from 104 to 74 by October.

It has also agreed in principle to bring in a quadruple council tax charge for houses that have been empty for more than 10 years – from next April.

In a report on the issue, the district council says: "The aim of these discretions is to bring forward the use of empty properties to increase the supply of housing across the country. 6.4 "In April 2013, long-term empty properties which were subject to the 50 per cent premium totalled 124 (in South Derbyshire).

"This has steadily fallen year-on-year since, with a more significant fall since April 2019 when the premium was doubled following the implementation of the recent discretion.

"There is evidence to suggest that the introduction of the premium has incentivised property owners to take action.

"In addition, the council employs an inspection and visiting officer to check the status of empty properties and this has also had some effect.

"It should be noted that the number of long-term empty properties in the district is a small proportion (0.2 per cent) compared to the total number of homes on the council tax register of over 45,000 properties."

South Derbyshire District Council is not the only authority in the area to have considered and or brought in the higher tax premium on empty properties.

Derbyshire Dales District Council brought in the double council tax levy in 2018, to come into force from April 2019, and also agreed in principle to bring in a treble premium from this April and quadruple from 2021.

Then leader, Cllr Lewis Rose, call the number of empty homes in the district a "blatant tragedy" while Labour's Cllr Mike Ratcliffe said it was an "absolute disgrace".

Meanwhile, Amber Valley Borough Council said in November that choosing the option of a council tax increase could be administratively burdensome which may "outweigh the relatively small gains".

Instead, the council says it will continue to work with owners of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use and take appropriate action when the owners are unwilling or unable to do so.

It agreed to prioritise empty properties for enforcement action along with vacant buildings that are also listed.