Councils' April Fools' Trick—But It’s No Joke! 🃏

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Council Tax / The Second Home Premium 🏠🏠

🌷💵 With Spring coming, not only trees and plants are flourishing but also taxes… and below are a few ways to save money, from a few hundreds to thousands of pounds.

The goal of this newsletter is to help you maximise your home’s value, and I thought exploring how to save money and prepare yourself rather than bracing for impact would be a good start.

Those of you who happen to have more than one residence might have received a letter like this one from their local council:

So that’s 100% increase enforced on 1 April… They probably could have chosen another date… and while we can debate whether they have the best sense of humour or not, the deadline is fast approaching.

Owners of:

1. Empty (not occupied)! The tax increase only applies to properties on the period during which there was no permanent resident registered at the address.

2. Furnished, meaning if it has enough furniture to be lived in.

3. Second homes, meaning anything that is not a main residence. Including buy-to-let, your holiday/country/beach residence, your restoration project, etc.

… could see the premium go as far as quadrupling their normal Council Tax bill, for homes that have been empty for at least 10 years.

Last but not least, the actual increase is capped by the government but how and whether it is enforced is left at the discretion of each council… (as you can see Reading Borough Council is happy to go all in 😄)

Ways to Reduce Your Costs 📉

Your personal circumstances and what you expect of this second home will be driving your options.

You can either:

• Break one of the 3 conditions listed above in order to avoid that 100% increase and stay at the standard rate.

• Take action in order to minimise the impact of the new regulation.

So here are actionable ideas I have gathered for you depending on the use of the property at the moment.

Holiday Residences

Your seaside or countryside retreat will be the one hit the hardest by this new regulation, if enforced by the local council.

This can be the opportunity to reassess the use you have been making of it:

• how many days a year have you spent there in the last 12 month;

• do the children like it;

• how much does it cost to maintain;

• is it a key part of your inheritance planning;

• etc.

If you have been using it every weekend, there is not much you can do about the new premium.

Keep it and reduce tax

Make the property uninhabitable. However if it’s been months or years since you last used it, you might want to consider whether removing the furniture could be an option.

The main obstacle being the empty homes premium that might be applicable.

Reach out to your local council and ask for the criteria for both empty and second homes premiums, and check whether there is a gap you could use in your favour.

Let it. The council tax is either paid by the owner or the registered resident when different. A solution to not only avoid the second home premium but also generate some income is to let the property…

Either permanently or as holiday let. The former will transfer the council tax to the new resident, while the latter will provide you a way to fund the increase in council tax while leaving you with flexibility to enjoy the property.

NB1: transitioning a property from a residence to a letting does require some effort and planning. So only consider it, if part of your longer term plan.

NB2: if your residence is what is officially called a ‘holiday home’ with a restriction preventing it to be used as a permanent residence, then you are not subject to the second home premium.

Sell or repurpose

Sell it. I’ve heard sound property owners coming to the conclusion it would have been cheaper and more enjoyable renting somewhere different every year than owning in the same place.

If selling is your option, you might want to know that while a second home is listed for sale - with a 12 months limit - it will be exempt from the premium.

Renovate it. Making major home improvements to your property could entitle you to ask to have it removed (deleted) from the council tax list. First, contact your local council to get a list of the potential qualifying works.

Buy-to-let

For buy-to-let properties, the new tax only applies during vacancy periods when they’re neither occupied nor actively marketed.

The solution? Start marketing before the tenancy ends—even if refurbishments can be planned—to avoid unnecessary charges.

You can work with your agent to define a reasonable date from which the property will be available again and set the expectation in the description of the listing.

Other exceptions

🔹 The property is an annex of the main home.

🔹 Probates in the case of a deceased person (12 months limit), no council tax to be paid at all.

🔹 Living in a job-related armed forces accommodation, then no council tax increase on the property that would have been your main home.

🔹 Job-related dwellings, a property one needs to occupy to fulfill a job obligation.

And just in case… ask for a discount

Unless your case falls in one of the predefined categories, you probably won’t be able to avoid the premium BUT you can aim for a discount.

If you think you have any other compelling reason not to pay the full amount, reach out directly to the council and tell them about your situation.

Too few people know that they can engage with their local council and discuss with them. I’ve had to do just that on a couple of occasions, and managed to come to a satisfactory solution both times.

I hope you found this insight useful. Use it to fuel your reflections around optimising the costs related to a second home trigger a conversation with your tax adviser, or draft the right budget if you have the plan to buy a second home.

For the latter, remember you can work with an agent by your side to secure the best deal and save significant amounts of money.

After crunching numbers, let’s shift gears to something more enjoyable—the things in life that can’t be rushed…

A Taste of Tradition: The Henley Distillery 🍸✨

Crafting the perfect spirit is one of them. It takes time, patience, and passion. Things that cannot be massed produced, hence why true connoisseurs get to value them so much. And that’s exactly what The Henley Distillery is all about.

Nestled in an 18th-century barn, this family-run distillery is home to four copper alembic stills, each named after founder Jacob Wilson’s grandparents. With open-flame heating, small-batch distillation, and hand-sealed bottles, every drop of their gin and rum is a tribute to true craftsmanship.

This isn’t just any gin—Henley Distillery’s craftsmanship has earned them Gold at the World Spirits Competition.🥇

And here’s the best part: you don’t just have to sip—you can distil your own gin! Their immersive experience lets you create a bespoke spirit from scratch, guided by Jacob and his team, going all the way from to choosing the botanicals 🌿 (they have over one hundred) to going home with your own bottle.

The welcome they gave me and the passion their shared when doing the tour tells me it is one of these experiences where you leave richer… of the things your learnt, the good time spent in the company of other like-minded fellow distiller amateurs and the pride of having distilled your own bottle.

🍹 Bonus: Want to turn your gin enthusiasm into a hands-on experience? Unlock 20% off and create your own signature gin—crafted just for you, by you when booking the Distil Your Own Gin experience for two people. 🍹

How to claim: Invite a friend to join The Prestige Collection by sharing this link with them https://theprestigecollection.beehiiv.com/subscribe and reply to this email to unlock your exclusive discount.

Below: meet Mac, Daisy and Pauline and I think Tony is off shot, on the far left. 🙂 

I hope this was useful.

Here’s to you to keep maximising your home’s value and enjoying the best things in life. 🥂

All the best,

Guy

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