Empty and second homes in Carmarthenshire as premium to rise

Carmarthenshire County Council confirmed that it will be raising its council tax premium for long-term empty homes. This will see a 50 per cent premium for homes empty for one to two years. The premium will be 100 per cent for properties empty for two to five years and a 200 per cent premium for properties empty for five or more years.

Data from the 2021 Census showed how many homes were empty across the county and it has been broken down into localised areas.

In the Llandovery, Cil-y-cwm and Cynwyl Gaeo areas, 380 of the 2,825 homes were classed as empty, 415 of Llandeilo, Llangadog and Manordeilo’s 3,530 homes were classed as empty, as were 325 of Brynaman, Garnant and Glanaman’s 3,565 homes.

There were 3,880 homes in Llandybie and Saron, with 205 of those being classed as unoccupied and 375 of Llanddarog, Llangynderyn and Ferryside’s 4,110 were classed as unoccupied. 245 out of 3,695 homes in Ammanford and Betws were classed as empty, and 205 of Llan-non, Cross Hands and Penygroes’ 3,750 homes were classed as unoccupied.

295 of the 4,605 homes in Glyn and Pontyberem were classed as empty and 150 of Yr Hendy and Ty-Croes’ 2,695 homes were also classed as empty and in Bynea and Llwynhendy there were 4,045 homes and 195 of those were empty.

Carmarthenshire County Council also confirmed that it would be imposing a 50 per cent council tax premium for second homes from April 1, 2024. Whilst the county’s number of second homes is quite low compared to much of west Wales, there were still 4.15 per cent of homes in Carmarthenshire classed as second homes.

These include 2.12 per cent in Llandovery, Cil-y-cwm and Cynwyl Gaeo, 0.57 in Llandeilo, Llangadog and Manordeilo, and 1.46 per cent in Llanddarog, Llangynderyn and Ferryside. The rest of the aforementioned areas in the empty homes section were not classed as having any second homes.

Elsewhere in Neath Port Talbot, the council has not yet published what the premiums will be but in Ystalyfera and Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, there were 350 empty homes out of a total of 4,910 and in Pontardawe, 330 of the 5,655 homes were also classed as empty. None of these areas were reported to have any second homes.

Swansea City Council currently charges a 100 per cent council tax premium for both empty homes and second homes on top of the standard council tax rate. In Pontarddulais, there are 120 empty homes out of a total of 2,950 houses. Powys County Council has also yet to provide its updated premiums, but it is currently at 100 per cent for long-term empty properties and 75 per cent for second homes. In Ystradgynlais and the Tawe Uchaf area, there are 400 empty homes out of 5,035 and 0.5 per cent of homes count as second homes.