Perthshire second home owners selling up after council tax doubles

The number of second homes in Perth and Kinross has dropped by 13% since council tax bills doubled in the spring.

Council bosses say there are 150 fewer second homes across the region.

That’s down from 1,160 at the end of 2023 when a new policy, allowing the authority to charge owners 200% council tax was agreed.

The raise was forecast to bring in an additional £2 million for the council to spend on tackling the affordable housing crisis.

But solicitors say it may also be the reason for a sharp rise in houses coming up for sale.

Owners are telling them it’s no longer financially viable to hold onto properties they’re not living in.

And they say the impact has been particularly noticeable in popular tourist areas, such as Pitlochry and Aberfeldy, where house-buyers have long struggled to find places at the “affordable” and of the market.

Second home owners say council tax rise is a factor in selling up

The Perthshire Solicitors Property Centre says listings in Pitlochry surged by 80% from June 1 to August 31, compared to the same period in 2023.

Across the Tayside market as a whole, the rise was 17%.

Centre manager Angela Wallace said: “We are hearing a lot of chat around the council tax rise for second homes.

“A lot of people are saying it’s not worth the trouble any more, so they’re just getting rid of places they’ve been holding onto.”

Angela says this is good news for buyers.

“Over the years, it’s been quite hard to pick up a property if you wanted to move to somewhere like Pitlochry because so many of them were second homes and holiday rentals,” she said.

“They tended to be at the lower end of the market. So in Aberfeldy or Pitlochry, you’re talking average prices of about £215,000 – £230,000.

“But the market seems to be freeing up a bit now.

” And so people who maybe thought they couldn’t afford to live there might want to look again.”

Council exploring other ways to address rural housing shortages

A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson confirmed the council tax charge levied on second homes was increased to 200% from April 1.

“From our most recent snapshot of available data (taken August 2024), approximately 150 properties were no longer classed as a second home,” they said.

“For example, they had been sold or let to private tenants.

“Perth and Kinross Council will continue to endeavour to maximise collection levels of all council tax.”

The council is exploring other methods to tackle housing shortages.

Councillors voted to reject a plan to introduce a short-term let control area in Highland Perthshire in August.

The zone would have required owners to obtain planning permission if they wanted to turn their homes into holiday rentals and let them out via platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com.

But opponents said it was not the solution to the rural housing crisis in Perth and Kinross.

Fife has seen a 14% drop in second homes since councillors there voted to double council tax.

The Scottish Parliament gave its backing to the new council tax raising powers for councils last year.