More than £250,000 has been refunded to owners of empty properties, it has been revealed.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council admitted it had failed to follow proper procedures and Government guidance before introducing higher council tax charges.

The money was paid back after its monitoring officer found the authority had not properly approved the scheme or fully assessed its impact on residents and the local economy.

Double tax

The Labour-led council introduced the higher charges in April last year, doubling Council Tax for homes left empty for more than 12 months and tripling bills for properties vacant for more than five years.

Owners of a Band D property could have seen annual bills rise from about £2,502 to £5,004 under the policy.

The council has also abandoned plans to introduce a Double Council Tax for second-home owners from April this year after legal concerns were raised over the consultation and approval process.

Council papers revealed that monitoring officer Matthew Wallbank launched an investigation after a resident highlighted similarities with a separate case.

That case was at neighbouring Warwick District Council, which had already refunded more than 400 second-home owners after finding charges had been imposed unlawfully.

Premiums approved

Wallbank concluded that Nuneaton and Bedworth’s cabinet had approved the premiums without a full council vote and that the authority had failed to produce a sufficiently detailed impact assessment.

It is despite Government guidance requiring councils to consider the wider effect on local communities and economies.

The authority, which is now under no overall control following local elections, confirmed that all affected empty homes accounts had now been refunded.

In addition, its proposed second-home premium has never been introduced.