HUNDREDS of people who own a second home in York may have to pay double the normal amount of council tax under new plans.

The proposals would apply to the owners of empty homes that have been unoccupied for two years or more. A City of York Council spokesman said there are currently 350 empty second homes in the city.

Councillors on the executive have been asked to approve the plans at a meeting this evening, with a report saying the plan aims to “encourage bringing second properties into use rather than increasing tax revenue”.

The proposals mean a second home owner with a long term empty Band D property in the city would pay £3,180.80 a year in council tax under the 2018/19 rates, in comparison to residents, who pay £1,590.40.

York Central MP Rachael Maskell said it is “criminal” that there are empty homes in the city when many residents are struggling to find accommodation.

She said: “At a time when we have got a housing crisis it’s vital we do everything we can to free up accommodation for people who need it. It’s criminal that in a housing crisis people are sitting on what is an asset - it’s only right that they pay their due to refocus resources to address the need. It’s absolutely right that they pay their way.

“A house shouldn’t be seen as a luxury but as an essential.”

The scheme would bring in about an extra £50,000 in council tax. Owners of long term empty second homes in the city have already been paying 150 per cent of the council tax rate on their properties since April 2013 after the Government gave local authorities the choice to charge an extra 50 per cent on unoccupied and substantially unfurnished properties.

A report by council officers says: “The Government in its autumn statement 2017 announced that councils would be given the power to increase this to 100 per cent from April 2018.”

The number of residential properties registered as second homes in York has fallen every year since the tax rise, from 654 in 2013 to 350 homes last year.

The 200 per cent council tax rate does not apply to homes that are rented out to tenants or to houses that are rented out as student properties, with full-time students exempt from paying council tax.

Homes that are empty because the owners have been taken into care may be exempt from council tax.

Properties that are derelict or unfit for occupation are also exempt and homes undergoing major structural repair or renovation may be eligible for 50 per cent off the council tax.

Homes that are rented out as holiday lets or apartments would be registered as businesses and pay a different type of tax.