An Angus councillor who voted for a council tax hike on vacant properties has now described the policy as “just not fair”.
In April the council’s policy and resources committee approved increasing the council tax on properties that have been empty for more than a year to 200%.
The move was designed to increase the amount of housing stock available by encouraging people to bring empty homes back into use.
The additional funds raised would go towards helping the amount of affordable housing in the county.
The committee gave an assurance that it would not affect people whose properties that were being “actively marketed for sale”.
However, an Arbroath health care assistant who has been trying to sell a flat in the town’s Jamieson Street for more than two years was shocked to receive a letter stating he is liable for increased tax from October.
Paul Barthorpe, 43, has dropped the property’s asking price by £2,000, changed estate agents and even posted it on Facebook and Gumtree, but has not received any offers on his one-bedroom flat.
He said: “It’s never been off the market but I can’t force someone to buy the property. I’ve had about 10 viewings since July 2012 but no offers. It’s a slow market.
“I’ve continued to pay council tax on it, which is about £87 a month the council receives for nothing. I’m also paying full council tax on the property I now live in with my partner.
“I received a letter saying this would increase to 150% in October, then 200% in April.
“If I moved back into the flat both my partner and I would get a 25% reduction. It’s like they are trying to get me to move back into the old flat. I don’t understand the logic they are getting money for nothing anyway.”
He brought the matter to the attention of Councillor David Fairweather, who took the concerns to the council’s head of corporate improvement and finance Ian Lorimer.
Mr Lorimer wrote to Mr Barthorpe to say the increase in council tax would apply to him as his property had been on the market for more than two years.
The letter stated: “I can understand your concerns about the fairness of this to you in your particular situation but it would be impossible to design a policy to deal with all eventualities and individual circumstances.”
Mr Fairweather, who is a member of the policy and resources committee and voted for the new rules, said he was “unhappy” and would welcome the policy being revisited.
He said: “I don’t think the policy was explained properly in the report that this could affect people who are actively trying to sell properties.
“It’s something that I would be happy to see if the council can relook at this policy because, for certain people, it’s just not fair.”
A council spokesperson said they had been encouraged by the Scottish Government through new legislation to review its discount policy for long term empty properties.
She said: “The new legislation does not affect an owner’s eligibility for existing council tax exemptions and in addition stipulates that no council tax increase can be imposed for up to two years after a property becomes empty where the property is being marketed for sale or let.
“We are committed to supporting owners of empty homes to assist in their efforts to bring them back in to use to provide much needed housing and invite these householders to speak to our housing team about a range of options which may be open to them.”