Second home numbers plunge by 40% ahead of tax changes

New tax rules allowing councils to double Council Tax for second-home owners in have scared off owners in Leicester with government figures showing numbers have plunged from 4,412 in 2022 to 2,624 today, a fall of more than 40%.

We are determined to tackle this issue.”

That still equates to 1 in 55 of the city’s properties, though. A spokesperson from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says: “We understand the frustration in areas where large numbers of properties are used as second homes and we are determined to tackle this issue.

“That’s why we are taking decisive action to protect communities by giving councils powers to charge a Council Tax premium on second homes and increasing Stamp Duty for those buying additional properties.”

Decisive action.

Leicester City Council’s website says: “From 1 April 2025, properties that are occupied periodically (often referred to as ‘second homes’) will be subject to a 100 per cent premium if there is no resident of the property and the property is substantially furnished.”

Outside the city, however, it is a different picture. Only Melton borough has seen any kind of reduction, where the number of second homes has fallen from 51 to 44.

And in Charnwood, the number of second homes has risen over the same period, going up from 446 to 522. To put this into context, however, the county districts have much lower proportions of second homes and fewer of them.

The city is not the only area where second homes are plummeting as tax rises loom. A battle is currently under way in Wales to reduce their numbers.