6. Second/holiday homes
If you have a second home which is substantially furnished but is not your main residence, you will have to pay a full charge. There is no discount unless your second home is an unoccupied caravan on a pitch or unoccupied boat on a mooring when you may get a 50% discount or if you have to live in a specific property because of your job.
Second/holiday home premium from 1 April 2025
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 allows local authorities to charge a premium (a higher charge) on second homes. East Devon District Council has agreed to charge an additional 100% Council Tax premium on second homes from 1 April 2025.
The government has allowed the following exceptions to the additional premium, meaning you will pay just the 100% Council Tax charge. There is more information on the government's website.
Exceptions that are not time limited
- Dwelling which is or would be someone’s sole or main residence if they were not residing in job-related armed forces accommodation (class E)
- Annexes forming part of, or being treated as part of, the main dwelling (class F)
- Job-related dwellings (class J)
- Occupied caravan pitches and boat moorings (class K)
- Seasonal homes where year-round, permanent occupation is prohibited, specified for use as holiday accommodation or planning condition preventing occupancy for more than 28 days continuously (class L)
Exceptions that are limited to 12 months
- Dwellings being actively marketed for sale (class G) *12 months from when first marketed
- Dwellings being actively marketed for let (class H) *12 months from when first marketed
- Where probate has recently been granted and a class F exemption has previously been awarded (12 months from grant of probate/letters of administration) (class I)
For Class G & H above, if the property has been remarketed, we will use the first date and not the most recent.
Please read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) before applying for a premium exception.
Apply for or cancel a premium exception on a second/holiday home
Job-related second homes where you may get a 50% discount
If you have to live in a specific property because of your job (the property has to be specified by your employer and it's in your contract of employment that you are required to live there), different rules to the second homes, may apply.
When your 'job-related' dwelling is your main residence, you will pay a full charge on this property but may qualify for a 50% discount on the property you have left unoccupied. This only applies if the dwelling is provided by your employer. Also, one of the following must apply to the 'job-related' dwelling:
- the duties of the job make it necessary for you to live there, or
- you can carry out your job better by living in the property, and it is usual for employers to provide accommodation in that type of job, or
- there is a special threat to your security, so special security arrangements have been made and you have to live in the property because of those arrangements.
Examples of where the discount might apply include:
- publicans who have their own house but their contracts say they have to live in the pub they run
- school caretakers who have a home elsewhere but their contracts say they must live on or near the school, in accommodation provided by the employer
- ministers of religion who have their own home but have to live in other accommodation provided by the church in order to carry out their duties as a minister.
Please note that:
- special rules apply if the employee is a director of the company which employs him/her and lives in a dwelling provided by the company
- the job-related discount does not apply if a person lives in a dwelling provided by a trade or business partner
- the job-related discount only applies where both homes concerned are in England, Scotland or Wales
- you cannot claim Council Tax Reduction at a second property
Apply for or cancel a discount on a job related second home