CORNWALL Council is set to adopt new powers which will allow it to charge owners of homes left empty more than 10 years quadruple council tax.

The proposal to take advantage of new legislation is detailed in a report on the council’s budget and medium term financial plan which is due to go before the council’s Cabinet on Wednesday.

Since 2013 the council has been able to charge homeowners who have left properties empty – unoccupied and unfurnished –  for two years or more an extra 50% on their council tax.

In an effort to bring more empty properties back into use the Government has introduced new legislation which comes into force in April.

Under the new rules from April councils will be able to charge a 100% premium of council tax – doubling council tax – on properties which have been left empty for at least two years.

Cornwall Council’s Cabinet is being asked to recommend to the full council that the council does bring in the new charge from April.

The report to the Cabinet states that this could bring in an extra £700,000 to the council every year.

The new legislation also allows for additional premiums to be brought in at a later date.

From April 2020 councils will be able to charge a 200% premium – effectively tripling council tax bills – for properties that have been left unoccupied for at least five years.

And from April 2021 local authorities can impose a 300% premium – making council tax bills four times the usual rate – for properties left empty for 10 years or more.

Cornwall Council estimates that these extra increase could generate an additional £300,000 in 2020/21 and £400,000 in 2021/22.

The council has been doing a large amount of work in recent years to bring empty properties back into use.

People with empty properties who want to bring them back into use can access low-cost loans to help pay for repairs and refurbishment so that they can be reoccupied.

Cornwall Council also runs an empty property matching service which helps those with an empty property make contact with investors who might be willing to buy the property to bring it back into use.